Gothika
by TwlghtDrmr
Summary: / AU \ 'You can't trust anybody here.' Echoed inside her head as she stared into the eyes of death. 'It's kill, or be killed.' / Ikarishipping \
1. Prologue: An Invitation To The Darkness

**. g o t h i k a .**

Prologue: An Invitation To The Darkness

_/ / do not swallow the words you've said / /_

_/ / darling, open your eyes / /_

_/ / the butterfly wings / /

* * *

_

_I want you to s h a t t e r it into pieces.

* * *

_

Soo… I dunno where this came from, but what can I say? At least I have something to offer you, I suppose?

/gets shot/

I have no idea what's wrong with me. I haven't had any inspiration for what, three or four months now? Or am I over-exaggerating? I can't tell anymore. Anyways I'm putting this up because I can't find any inspiration for my other stories. So this will be here to be my muse! **ALL MY OTHER STORIES WILL BE ON A TEMPORARY HIATUS.**

You'd think I would have more time in the summer to write, but unfortunately that isn't the case. College is a real pain to have to get ready for. Urgh.

ANYWAYS. I've already got the first few chapters drafted out and I know how I'm going to end it, pretty much, but yeah. This is a twist on all the fairy tales in the world, including Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood (the whole wolf concept will probably be a combination of a few tales), Cinderella, Hansel and Grethel, Rapunzel (maybe), The Little Mermaid (another maybe) and others with a horror twist on them.

This is not going to be pretty. It's going to be gory, graphic, and M-rated. And…perhaps I will have a lemon. Maybe. (I mean I might as well since its already rated M right? Right?)

Oh, and it's Ikarishipping. I think they fit well into the category.

And this is SO AU it's not even funny. Lol.

* * *

_Summary: / / AU \ \ 'You can't trust anybody here.' Echoed inside her head as she stared into the eyes of death. 'It's kill, or be killed.' / / Ikarishipping \ \_

* * *

"_Our top story tonight, another girl has gone missing! In the past four weeks there have been multiple reports of girls going missing, vanishing without a trace into the night. There is never any trace left behind. It's like they just got up and went poof!"_

"_You seem to be exaggerating a bit, don't you think so, Detective?"_

"_No, she's right… Unfortunately, we don't have very many leads. None of the girls seem to be related at all. They all went to different schools, they didn't leave near each other at all, and none of them looked alike. They were from all different races and ethnicities, various religions and were all studying different things. The only thing about them that's similar is their age group. They were all high school teenage girls."_

"_Wow… And these girls just… disappeared?"_

"_That's how it seems. All of them were taken in the night, in their beds, with no signs of forced entry."_

"_Oh no… think of the poor families."_

"_Yes, and I extend my deepest regrets. But we are doing everything we can to apprehend the criminal."_

"_What should we do to help protect ourselves, Detective?"_

_"I would advise all girls to not go out after dark by yourselves. And –"_

Dawn stared at the blank TV screen a moment longer, her thumb still on the power button of the remote, arm extended towards the TV. She shook her head, her hair flitting around her cheeks gently. She sighed sadly, before picking up the newspaper.

It was all over the news. She could barely flip a channel without the same story flashing obnoxiously in her face. It was plastered over the front of every magazine and the newspaper especially. In black and white was the picture of a girl. In color she would have had short red hair and confident dark ruby eyes. Dawn looked sadly at the picture, gripping the newspaper hard in her hand, crinkling the pages and causing a rift to split right through Zoey's face.

It'd been a month since the disappearances started happening. The latest was Zoey, a smart young girl who was a track star at Dawn's high school. The two had been great friends, like sisters, and they usually walked to and from school together. Zoey lived close by to Dawn, so Dawn would wait in the morning so they could walk to school.

One morning, she never came.

Frowning to herself, Dawn threw the newspaper onto her kitchen table. Her apartment was small, suited to just a single person. Dawn had moved out of her mother's home when she was sixteen to go to school in Slateport. Only a year had passed since then. Dawn shoved the remaining toast inside her mouth as she began to tie the tie around her neck. Her school uniform consisted of a short-sleeved white button up shirt, a gray cardigan, and plaid, pleated skirt. Stockings were allowed but most girls wore leg warmers or knee-high socks in preference.

Grabbing her beige bag, Dawn rushed out the door, locking it before heading down the stairs, chewing her breakfast as her thoughts drifted to Zoey.

Dawn stopped, turning her head upwards to stare at the building Zoey lived in. The two had exchanged house keys for emergencies. Glancing at her watch, Dawn walked through the revolving doors of the apartment complex. The receptionist paid her no mind as Dawn walked straight to the elevator doors. Zoey's apartment was on floor twelve, and mindless music played in the small space as the elevator bumped its way upward. A familiar ding rang through the enclosed area and Dawn stepped out, walking the familiar hallways to Zoey's room. She dug the key out of her pocket, inserting it into the lock. She entered in, glancing around to make sure it was clear.

The police had already gone through the apartment, but Dawn knew they weren't looking in the right spots. Zoey hid her most valuable things in the hidden slot in her desk. It was hard to find, and nearly impossible to open unless one knew the right combination to get the lock to release. Dawn knew the entire combo by heart.

The drawer slid open easily and Dawn frowned at the colored envelope sitting inside. It was the only thing in there, the red wax seal broken on the front, carefully, as if Zoey hadn't wanted to ruin it. The paper felt old and antique, and the writing on the back in elegant cursive spelled out 'Zoey'. Flipping it back over again Dawn opened the envelope cautiously, fingers shaking as she began to pull the papers out.

Then her watch began to beep, startling her out of her reverie. Dawn glared at her watch, the time flashing 7:30 a.m.

* * *

The morning bell rang as the chaos of before class began to die down and students sat in their seats, loud voices slowly drifting to silence.

"Good morning, class!" Lola cried out cheerfully, her brown hair flouncing, long beige skirt flitting in the wind as she skipped her way into class.

"G-good morning, sensei!" The class chimed back. Even after three years of having Lola as a homeroom teacher, Dawn couldn't help but note that the class still wasn't used to her perkiness.

"Ah – today we have a special treat! A transfer student!" Lola began, waving her arms frantically in the arm in excitement.

Dawn could hear the mutters all around her. Curious as to who could be transferring in halfway into the semester, Dawn felt her ears perk up.

"Come on in, Paul!"

Said boy walked in, his mauve hair complementary to his onyx eyes. He was tall – at least a head or so taller than Dawn. He wore the traditional white button up shirt with black trouser pants and black shoes, his tie bearing the insignia of the school they all attended.

"Say hello, Paul!" Lola started, speaking as though she were talking to a child. "Why don't you tell the class about yourself?"

Dawn leaned in.

"No thanks." He deadpanned, looking at Lola blankly. The rest of the class stared at him, an awkward tension beginning in the class.

"A-all right then, why don't you take a seat next to Dawn?" Lola could feel a cold sweat developing on her forehead as she attempted not to stare into the seemingly blank eyes of the new transfer student.

Dawn raised her hand in response, and Paul stuffed his hands into his pockets before walking towards her.

Lola had just started her daily rant of mathematics (usually with her ending on a tangent of a trip she took, thus never really achieving anything that day) and so Dawn slipped out the envelope she'd hidden in her notebook from Zoey's house. She sat in the far back corner, next to the windows, Paul to her right. She glanced at him briefly, and satisfied that he wasn't looking at her, slowly began to open the envelope once again.

Paul, on the other hand, stared at the teacher, bored, his chin in the palm of his hand.

'This world is boring.' He noted mentally, before frowning. 'This is so useless –' Paul glanced at the cobalt-haired girl next to him, before noticing the piece of paper in her hands, as she attempted to hide it in her desk.

'Wait a minute – that envelope is…'

Dawn pulled once again the papers out of the envelope, hands shaking.

"Dawn!" Dawn yelped before shoving the papers back into her desk and jumping up.

"Y-Yes?"

"Could you please answer this question?" Lola smiled at Dawn cheerfully, completely oblivious to Dawn's shaken attitude.

"S-sure." Dawn wandered up the aisles towards the chalkboard, not noticing the critical eyes on her back.

* * *

Dawn had practically run the entire way home, the envelope from Zoey's house safely tucked inside her favorite notebook. She stopped as the clear glass sliding doors opened to the lobby of her apartment complex, breathing heavily, a piece of sweet bread in her mouth. Dawn pulled her mail key out, and pulled out all of the contents in the small mailbox. She walked into the elevator, chewing her food and alone, as she shuffled through her mail.

A single envelope caught her attention.

Made of the same paper with the same cursive spelling was the name 'Dawn'. Flipping it over quickly, was the same thick red wax seal from Zoey's letter, unmarred and unbroken. Dawn felt the bread begin to slip from her mouth and quickly moved to catch it with her hand. She swallowed hard as the ding from the elevator indicated she had arrived on the eighth floor. Dawn looked around her, paranoid, as she ran towards her apartment.

Slamming the door closed behind her, Dawn threw the rest of the mail on the kitchen island before settling at her kitchen table. She threw her bag on the table, grabbing the notebook as she pulled out the envelope dedicated to Zoey. In haste, she quickly pulled from the envelope a thick, cardstock invitation.

Falling from between the envelope and card was a blackened, burnt piece of paper. It was crumbling between her fingers, and Dawn carefully placed it onto the table. Fingers shaking, Dawn flipped the card between her fingers and began to read.

_Dear Zoey,_

_We cordially invite you_

_To play a little game of tag._

_If you think you're quick enough to beat us,_

_Use the paper enclosed_

_To find us._

Dawn frowned at the clear challenge written in the note.

'Zoey never could say no to a challenge…' Dawn picked up the envelope on her table. The writing was a carbon copy of itself, the only thing differing were the letters. Dawn stared at the charred piece of paper, confused as to what it could have been. Sighing loudly, Dawn gently placed the burnt paper and card back into the envelope. She closed it shut, and staring at it a moment longer before dropping it on the table, uninterested.

* * *

"Today I will be assigning your project partners!" Lola picked a large stack of papers up from the desk near the front of the room. A collective groan murmured throughout the classroom.

"The due date for this assignment will be next week! I look forward to all your effort!" She gave a bright smile before she began reading off pairings.

"…Misty and Ash… Charlotte and Riley… Casey and Richie… Dawn and Paul… May and Drew…"

Dawn groaned mentally at the name of her partner. For the past two days he'd been nothing but rude and sarcastic to her. Nonetheless, Dawn turned with a bright (albeit a tad forced) smile on her face.

"So, what days would be good for you?" Paul turned to look at Dawn with an annoyed look on his face.

"Any day is fine."

"Okay… how about after school today at four, then?"

"…Fine."

Paul turned to face the board again, effectively ending the conversation. Dawn twitched angrily.

The afternoon bell chimed, signaling the release of all the students. Dawn stomped out of the school, grinding her teeth angrily.

'Who does that jerk think he is? I mean honestly!' Dawn grumbled furiously to herself as she walked towards the door to her apartment.

She threw her things on the couch, pulling off the tie and throwing it at the TV. It didn't make it, and landed softly on the ground in front of it. She tugged off her white shirt and instead pulled on a loose, light pink tank top with a faded floral pattern crawling up the side of it, before pulling on a loose black cardigan and black pleated skirt, a cute lace cloth underneath it.

Plopping on her kitchen island, Dawn sipped a cup of orange juice, eyes distant.

There was still no news of Zoey.

Her eyes instinctively traveled down to the two near identical envelopes sitting on her table innocently. Dawn hadn't touched anything since two days ago, and placed her porcelain cup down before jumping down.

Dawn noted the time – 3:55 p.m. – and that Paul would be getting there soon. Turning back to the envelope in her hand, Dawn broke the waxy seal and pulled out similar thick cardstock invitation, as well as a papyrus thin piece of paper, with a strange and large black circle on it, strange stars and symbols etched inside of it, and fine black print at the top.

Dawn flipped the invitation card over.

_Dear Dawn,_

_We cordially invite you_

_To play a little game of tag._

_Why don't we_

_bet your friend's life?_

_If you win, you get her back._

Dawn's eyes widened at the last sentence, and her breath hitch. She frantically threw the card onto the ground and grabbed the thin paper that had been enclosed with it.

_'Use the paper enclosed_

_to find us'_

Dawn stared down at the paper, hands trembling as her mind went in a flurry of past memories, of Zoey, and of the invitation. She glanced down at the paper, holding it close as she attempted to read the black letters engraved at the top.

"Open… the gate…"

Paul frowned as he thought of the envelope in Dawn's hands just a few days back.

'She can't have been chosen, a girl from this area has already been –' Paul stiffened immediately, before beginning to run down the hallway towards Dawn's apartment.

"To…the…"

The familiar rush of energy from another world filled his body as he began to run faster, his instincts on alert. He threw himself into Dawn's apartment, the door unlocked.

"Nightmare?" Dawn spoke the last word, turning the moment to look at Paul, breathing heavily at her door. His eye widened, and the moment he stepped in the door slammed behind him.

"Shit, Dawn!" Paul lunged for the girl, the paper fluttering into the air. The same black symbols engraved upon the paper suddenly spread off the paper, widening and opening a large black hole at the ceiling of Dawn's apartment. It began a torrent of wind, sucking everything into its center. Paul grabbed onto Dawn's hand, in a vain attempt to keep her down. The wind suddenly picked up, lifting both Dawn and Paul into the vortex.

And suddenly everything fell silent, the wind dissipated, and a single lone paper float down to the floor, before igniting itself on fire, the black edges curling into the center.

* * *

Ah, too bad. They got sucked into a vortex.

Hope it was good!

This plot has been bugging me for a while. I got a lot of inspiration for it from a vocal CD! You get a cookie if you can figure out what CD it's from.

AH! BEFORE I FORGET:

Lola – The homeroom teacher, also Brock's mother. Check Serebii (dot) net Bios for her!


	2. Chapter 1: Kagami No Mukou

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter One: Kagami no Mukou

_/ / darling, raise your voice / /_

_/ / prayers end / /_

_/ / love smeared in filth / /

* * *

_

_to the paradise that is still u n s e e n

* * *

_

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. CHAPTER 1 IS ALREADY UP.

I just rock that much. Or something like that, hah!

Anyways.

I GOT A NEW LAPTOP! It's so amazingly fast with Windows 7 and 500 GB of hard drive. (I finally have room for like the 30 GB of otome games I own!) (…I sound like such a loser.)

Kagami no Mukou roughly translates to "Another Side of the Mirror".

The name of the Vocal CD I got my inspiration from (for outfits, some characters and lyrics) is called Gothika – Aka Hitsuji Oto Gi Hako – (you can clearly see where I got my title from… Lol) and has some pretty creepy music. It's not an anime or manga or anything like that, it's just a CD with songs that tell a collective story.

Now, enjoy reading!

Oh, I should probably mention now… Zoey… Ah, well, nevermind. You'll see. Hehehehe.

* * *

_"Shit, Dawn!" Paul lunged for the girl, the paper fluttering into the air. The same black symbols engraved upon the paper suddenly spread off the paper, widening and opening a large black hole at the ceiling of Dawn's apartment. It began a torrent of wind, sucking everything into its center. Paul grabbed onto Dawn's hand, in a vain attempt to keep her down. The wind suddenly picked up, lifting both Dawn and Paul into the vortex._

_And suddenly everything fell silent, the wind dissipated, and a single lone paper float down to the floor, before igniting itself on fire, the black edges curling into the center.

* * *

_

Dawn struggled to breathe as everything rushed around her, fast and unrelenting, and it felt as though she were falling faster and farther down a never-ending rabbit hole. It was as if the wind all around her just wanted to batter her rather than enter her lungs. The only thing Dawn was sure of was the warmth of Paul's hand in hers. She gripped onto his hand harder; as tears threatened to fall from her eyes and she shut them tightly, fear swallowing her whole. And then everything stopped. Suddenly she felt the hard, unforgiving floor underneath her. Still, Dawn kept her eyes shut.

She landed with a thud, only moving so she could get up to sit on her bottom, her knees pulled in front of her and her hand still gripping Paul's. She felt him move in front of her instinctively, and still she kept her eyes closed.

"Oh? It looks as though Dawn brought us another visitor!" A strong masculine voice started, and Dawn's eyes snapped open to look up. The man smiled wolfishly, his silver hair brushing against his eyes. Dawn could see his long hair tied in the back with a black band, and the rest was piled in front against his shoulder.

"Ah, but she was supposed to come alone!" Two girls chimed beside him. The girl on the left had long red hair and one red eye and one black eye. The other had long white hair with one blue eye and one black eye. They both wore large, white over-sized sweaters, sleeves long past their hands with faux black fur on the end. The sweater extended to their mid-thigh, the same thick faux onyx fur at the bottom. The hood was up, long white bunny ears protruding and falling alongside their cheeks at the top. They wore multi-colored ripped stockings and cute ballerina flats.

Dawn would have thought they were adorable, if she hadn't noticed the tips of gleaming sharp blades from underneath Rose-Red's sleeves.

"Now, now, Rose-Red, Snow-White, is that any way to treat a guest?" The man laughed, and Dawn couldn't help but notice the fact it resounded through the hall like a howl. She glanced around her. In front of her were four stairs that led up to the black, cushioned armchair the man sat in, the two young girls by his side. The hall looked like the throne room to a castle in England. It was beautiful and whimsical, the pillars in white and the floor a tiled black and red.

"Ah – how long has it been, Paul?" Dawn snapped her head back to look at Paul, eyes wide.

"Shut up, you stupid carnivorous piece of shit." He hissed, gritting his teeth. Dawn turned to look at the large man, who stood up. He wore a suit of white and a large black top hat, and it was the first time that Dawn noticed the pointed white ears atop his head. He gave a large, wide smile and Dawn held her breath when she saw the large, sharpened canines.

"You were supposed to come alone!" Little Rose-Red pouted, crinkling her nose angrily as she crossed her arms, and she appeared as though she were about to throw a fit.

"Now, now, Rose-Red. It'll be fine." Snow-White smiled prettily, voice calm and rang like bells in the large room. Dawn glanced behind her, looking at the large opened doors leading out towards a hallway, the left side open columns and borders to, at this point for Dawn, freedom.

"Ah, ah! I wouldn't think about that, now, little bird." Dawn flit her head around, glaring at the mocking tone of the large man. "You wouldn't want Zoey to die before the game's started, now would you?"

Dawn's eyes widened.

"Where is my friend?" Dawn yelled angrily, and Paul tilted his head slightly to turn to look at her.

"Hmm, where, you ask…?" The man smiled at Dawn pleasantly, before shrugging.

"W-why you…" Dawn grit her teeth angrily.

"Enough with the talk, you stupid Duke. What do you want with Dawn? You've already gotten one girl from that area, and I know you don't like to double dip."

"Ah – excellent question." The Duke sat back down, his mouth smiling but his eyes cold and calculating.

"Unfortunately, you won't ever get to know the answer!" Rose-Red shrieked, a wide smile on her face as she launched herself from the top of the stairs, swiftly pulling the two large blades from underneath the sleeves that had hidden them before. Dawn could see rusted blood near the hilt underneath Red-Rose's palm. She yelped, releasing Paul's hand to jump up and dodge the attack.

"Shit, stupid girl." Paul grunted as he pulled a small blade he'd hidden near his ankle.

"Always prepared, aren't you, Paul?" The Duke laughed, and his laughter seemed to mix with a howl.

"Mr. Wolf, am I allowed to play as well?" Snow-White cooed, leaning against the armrest of the large chair, pouting cutely.

"Now, now, Snow-White. You'll get your turn." He smiled cruelly at the girl.

'Mr. Wolf?' Dawn thought to herself, as she attempted to get up, her legs shaking uncontrollably as she leaned against the large wooden white pillar by her. She turned to look at Paul, who was having a close-combat melee with Rose-Red.

"Why don't you stay still now, Paul-nii-chan?" Rose-Red laughed hysterically, large blades glinting in the candlelight that lit the throne room, the loud clang of metallic resounding throughout the room. Dawn couldn't stop her trembling knees, and she mentally cursed herself for being so afraid.

"Hmph. Pathetic that you can't catch me. Do you want me to give you a handicap, puppet?" Paul smirked coldly back, dodging once more before crouching down and slamming his foot upwards into Rose-Red's chin. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as Rose-Red somersaulted backwards, glaring angrily at Paul.

"What'd you say, you shitty piece of meat?" She hissed, sharply holding her blades up in front of her, crossing them in front of her face. Paul snorted at her remark.

"I asked you if you wanted a handicap, or is one not enough?" Rose-Red screamed angrily as she lunged herself once again at Paul, anger fueling her actions. She sloppily aimed for Paul, who dodged easily and, in an opening he slipped underneath her two blades extended out in front of her. Rose-Red's eyes widened a fraction, and for a moment Dawn could see fear in her eyes, as Paul's blade slammed into her stomach, staining his hands with blood. Rose-Red immediately jumped back and away from the blade, the former shine now coated in a brilliant shade of scarlet. Paul flicked his wrist, the blood flying off the blade smoothly, coating the black and red tiles with a darkening shade of ruby.

"You piece of shit…!" Rose-Red managed to gasp out, as blood began to froth up into her throat. She coughed it out, and Dawn felt her breath hitch at the amount of blood spilling onto the floor. Her blades dropped to the floor with a loud clang, and Rose-Red pressed a pale hand to her navel, the blood seeping past and staining her alabaster skin with crimson. Dawn swallowed roughly, her throat suddenly dry.

"Hah… ah, ha, ha, ha!" The Duke began to laugh hysterically; a single white-gloved hand raised to his eyes, throwing his head back with his strange half howl, half laughter that spilled past his lips.

"Rose-Red…!" Snow-White cried out, but refused to move from her position.

"Excellent as usual, Paul. It's a shame your brother wasn't as good." The Duke smirked callously at Paul, who stiffened at the remark.

"I'll fucking kill you." Paul sneered, voice shaking with anger.

"Ah, ah, now! Don't rush, have some patience! Why don't you play with Snow-White first?"

The serene look on Snow-White's face was unnerving, as she pulled two large black guns. Swiftly she raised her arms and aimed for Paul, before letting out rapid-fire shots, empty shell cases flying all around her. The same pleasant smile remained on her face, as she followed Paul as he ran across the throne room, although never getting too close to Dawn.

'What's wrong with all these people, here!' Dawn breathed heavily, her heart hammering inside her chest. She glanced at the Duke.

'He's mocking us… not letting Snow-White fight Paul alongside Rose-Red just proves it. What does he want?' Dawn bit her lip as thoughts rushed through her head, her mind in overdrive and her body overly sensitive to everything around her.

Snow-White stopped before jumping forward as she ran towards Paul, who dodged easily and in a near invisible speed suddenly was in the place Snow-White formerly was. She turned her head around, a blank look on her face, before skidding to a stop and pivoting swiftly, arms raised as she let out another round at Paul, who ran the opposite direction of Dawn to the other side of the throne room.

"Why don't you play a little with me, nee-chan?" Dawn whirled around as she turned to stare at Rose-Red, the deepening crimson wound on her navel, both her hands holding the large blades. She gave a little giggle at the terrified look on Dawn's face before lunging, sword first at Dawn. Dawn yelped as she dove sideways hands first and dodged the attack, landing on her hands before pushing off them to flip in the air and land again on her feet, bent on the ground, one knee down and the other up, her fingers lightly touching against the cool tile.

"Oh? You're surprisingly nimble. And here I thought you were just another stupid, weak girl!" Rose-Red's laughter shrieked throughout the throne room, mingling with the loud continuous popping sounds of Snow-White's double guns.

"Don't take me for an idiot, I'm a lot faster than you think!"

Dawn's body moved in a familiar rhythm to the fighting moves she'd learned as a child and into her adolescent years. She'd only trained in Judo, but Dawn had always been praised for her excellent improvising skills and being unpredictable. She crouched down low before pushing her legs hard off the ground towards Rose-Red, remaining low to the ground as she ran swiftly towards the girl before stopping abruptly just before Rose-Red and raising her leg to slam her foot roughly into Rose-Red's cheek. The attack sent the girl flying a few feet, who sat up, dropping a sword to hold a hand to her cheek. She clamped her teeth and glared at Dawn.

"Stupid girl, I'll kill you!" Rose-Red snatched her sword up before running towards Dawn and began to swing wildly at her. Dawn clenched her teeth as she attempted to dodge all the erratic movements. The irregular pattern of Rose-Red's movements had Dawn's instincts going haywire, her body not quick enough to match the girl's actions. Dawn cried out as Rose-Red's blade slashed her upper arm. She jumped back far, and gripped her hand against the wound on her left arm.

'Oh, shit.' Dawn cringed at the searing pain that was traveling through her arm that began to resonate through her body.

"Dawn – god, dammit!" Paul launched and kicked Snow-White back into the wall before running towards Rose-Red.

"Ah? You want to play again, dim-witted boy?" Rose-Red grinned maniacally, as she began to run towards Paul.

"Out of the way, you dumb puppet!" Paul dodged Rose-Red's attack and managed a large slash on the left side of her before running to Dawn.

"Fuck –" Paul started, before grabbing Dawn's hand, coated in blood, and made a beeline for the two doors. Rose-Red and Snow-White made no move to capture them; they simply stood up and stared after the two. Dawn turned to look at the carnage behind them.

The Duke simply smiled and waved politely, his mouth forming words.

'_You'll be back.'

* * *

_

Dawn and Paul had managed to escape the grounds of the large manor belonging to the Duke, and rushed down a large hill towards the bustling village below. Everything looked straight out of a history book, a mix of medieval and Victorian elements. The manors were large and stately, like European castles, while the villages looked poor and made from straw and wood.

The two hid behind a small cottage that housed a clothing shop, and they slumped against the brick, breathing heavily. There was nothing but the quiet clomping of horse hooves against ground, wheels on gravel and the quiet murmurings of a small village. Paul stared up at the sky, before glaring and turning his face down to stare at his lap.

Dawn's breathing had begun to steady, and she stared intently into her lap, her knees drawn up towards her chin, before her jaw began to shake and the tears she'd been holding in suddenly came rushing forth. She tried to stifle her sobs, leaning her forehead against her knees, her hands gripping her ankles.

"Stop crying, you stupid girl."

Dawn raised her head quickly and angrily, her hair plastered to her wet cheeks.

"What do you mean, 'stop crying'! Did you see what happened back there? What the hell is going on? Where's Zoey…?" Dawn's voice began strong and heated, before trailing off as the tears trailed down her cheeks. She reached up to grab the wound on her arm.

"Obviously I saw what happened back there. I was part of it, if you've forgotten." Paul scoffed, one knee raised the other leg flat as he crossed his arms and leaned against the cottage. His eyes moved to stare intently at the blood that flowed past Dawn's fingers. He gave a loud sigh before turning towards Dawn.

Paul ripped apart of the bottom of his shirt and roughly grabbed Dawn's arm. She squeaked, in which he promptly ignored, before he began to dress her wound.

"…Who are you really, Paul?" Dawn raised her face slightly to look at Paul's eyes. He glanced at her, before returning to wrapping Dawn's wound.

"…I'm a Count. From this world."

"This world?" Dawn rubbed her cheeks furiously with her free hand.

"That's right. You could call your world and my world parallels. Two sides of a coin. Another side of the mirror. They're opposites. My world is nothing but gruesome made up fairy tales while yours is all reality." Paul muttered quietly, before he finished tying the dressing to Dawn's laceration.

"Thanks." She murmured to him, her hands falling into her lap. She paused.

"So… is this what's been making the girls disappear?" Dawn thought of the vortex that had landed them in this situation.

"…Yes. It seems the Duke of these parts has acquired a particular taste for human girls… amongst other things." Paul replied, before turning to stare at the forest that lay ahead of them, leaning his back against the brick cottage.

"Amongst other things?" Dawn inquired curiously, but the only thing she received was silence.

They sat there for a moment longer, before Dawn began to get antsy. She shuffled around a few times, before finally getting fed up and standing up. Paul looked up at her, an annoyed expression on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know! I can't sit here; we're like sitting ducks! Besides, I need to find Zoey!" Dawn started, pacing back and forth. Paul sighed loudly.

"Zoey's probably dead." Paul responded easily, and Dawn whipped her head to stare at him, her mouth pressed tightly in a thin line, trembling.

"Don't say that! She can't be dead, she just can't be… She's too goddamn stubborn to die!" Dawn stomped her foot on the ground. Paul rolled his eyes, an elegant snort coming from his direction.

"Fine, we'll go look for information about her. But if we're going to do anything, we need to change." Dawn looked at Paul, who looked fine but when she looked down at herself she noticed her skirt had ripped in several places, her shirt had nicks and rips near the top as well as her navel, and the large wound on the side of her arm didn't help much.

"R-right." Dawn felt her face turn bright red, and felt her face heat up even further (if that was possible) when Paul smirked and cleverly masked a snicker behind a loud cough.

* * *

"Are you really wearing that, Paul?" Dawn stared critically at the attire Paul had chosen. He had pulled on black slacks with a white button-up shirt with a dark blue blazer over it. Paul simply rolled his eyes at Dawn.

"And what about you? You're going to go prancing around in that?"

"What? It's cute!" Dawn huffed, pouting as she crossed her arms.

Dawn had picked out a white dress with a scoop neckline, and red satin ribbons for straps. A large red cloth wrapped at her natural waist and bound itself into a bow at her back, and the dress flared out underneath the red waist, cinching two inches above the end of the fabric, a small black bow in the center of the cinch and the bottom two inches flaring out. Dawn had grabbed a red cape as well, a little golden bell attached at the middle where the two sides of the cape met, and white ballet flats on her feet.

"Right. Whatever." Paul shrugged, before paying and walking out the store, Dawn trailing after him.

"I'm surprised you had money." Dawn noted, and Paul turned his head to look behind at her, before shrugging.

'_Always prepared, aren't you, Paul?'_

Dawn shook her head at the sound of the Duke's voice resonating in her head. Although she had to agree – Paul was unexpectedly prepared.

"Hey, Paul… was there a reason why you came to… err, my world?" Dawn stared intently at Paul's back, and noticed his shoulders tense.

"Dawn." Paul had stopped suddenly, and Dawn had walked straight into him, before stumbling backwards slightly.

"W-what?" She blushed at her in-attentiveness.

"I'm telling you…you can't trust anybody here." Paul turned around to stare at Dawn.

"Huh – Wait, what? Why?" Paul stared at her critically for a moment, before shaking his head.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed. It's survival of the fittest."

Dawn frowned at the concept, not wanting to believe it, but at what she'd seen up to this point, Dawn was willing to believe whatever Paul said.

"You can't trust anyone here. Not even your friend Zoey." Dawn's head shot up as she stared at Paul with wide eyes.

"Y-you're joking, right? I mean, Zoey's like my sister. I think I'd know whether or not I could trust her." Dawn frowned, voice angry. Paul sighed, shrugging.

"You don't know what this place will do to someone."

* * *

"Where are we going, Paul?" Dawn questioned, attempting to keep up with Paul's long strides.

"We're leaving this area." He was heading to a horse stable, and it took a moment for the words to register in Dawn's head.

"W-wait, what? But we have to find Zoey! She has to be here! Didn't you hear what the Duke said –?"

"It doesn't matter. Do you really expect us to find your friend now? We can't just rush in blindly. We need a plan." Paul deadpanned, as he reached into his pockets and paid for a horse. Dawn was silent in return, digesting his words thoughtfully.

"…All right. But where are we going to go, then?" Paul adjusted the saddle on the horse, before heaving himself up.

"We'll go to where my home is." He replied easily. Dawn was about to ask where his house was until she noticed that there was only one horse. Dawn looked around for another horse, but found none.

"Um… where am I supposed to ride?" Dawn frowned as she looked up at Paul. He rolled his eyes.

"With me."

"…What?"

"…Hmph, are you deaf as well as stupid?"

"EXCUSE ME?"

"Whatever. Hurry up, or I'm leaving without you."

"W-wai – freaking – "

Dawn attempted to hoist herself up onto the horse behind Paul, and had been successful until her foot slipped and she felt herself falling backwards. Paul gripped her wrist and pulled her behind him. Dawn immediately grabbed around his waist, her chest heaving as the adrenaline began to die down. The horse neighed before it began to gallop out of the horse stable, and out of the village.

Dawn glanced behind her, her hair brushing past her cheeks as the horse gradually sped up, and the small village and mansion slowly shrank until it was nothing but a distant vision, forever engraved in her mind.

* * *

RUN HORSE, RUN!

A few author notes:

If you're wondering whom Snow-White and Rose-Red are, they're sisters. The original "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs" from Disney isn't the version I'm using – I'm using the Brothers Grimm fairy tale version. Anyways, they're sisters and they're super uber close. The end. Lol!

Mr. Wolf and the Duke are both the same person, I just usually refer to him as Duke while Snow-White/Rose-Red refer to him as Mr. Wolf. Yes, he is part wolf. And yes, he will eat you, because he is a "carnivorous piece of shit" in the words of Paul.

And as for Paul's whole protection complex, well, that'll be explained in the further chapters.

Oh - about Paul's brother? OHOHOHOHOHO. Well, you'll see... (super sketchy look)

And Paul? Well, we'll all find more about him... all you get to know right now is he's a Count and he's from somewhere. Heh.

Both Snow-White and Rose-Red use 'nee-chan' (sister) and 'nii-chan' (brother) in a sort of mocking way, in their show of being cute as well as deadly.

Yes, they're crazy.

And yes, I have decided to include a lemon. Hehe.

Oh, and you will find Little Red Cap's outfit surprisingly similar to Dawn's…. LOL. (That is, if you decide to check out the Gothika vocal CD.)


	3. Chapter 2: The House Made Of Gingerbread

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 2: The House Made Of Gingerbread

_/ / times that won't return, a blank memory, the seasons change / /_

_/ / please let these shaky memories, not words, reach you / /_

_/ / please don't erase the day we made that vow / /

* * *

_

_we will walk this e n d l e s s road t o g e t h e r

* * *

_

Bwoop, bwoop!

To answer a question… it looks like this is going to be a strictly Ikarishipping story. Sure, maybe Ash/Misty/Drew/May will make random cameos, but that's about it lol.

Of course, this is subject to change. Ha ha!

* * *

_Dawn attempted to hoist herself up onto the horse behind Paul, and had been successful until her foot slipped and she felt herself falling backwards. Paul gripped her wrist and pulled her behind him. Dawn immediately grabbed around his waist, her chest heaving as the adrenaline began to die down. The horse neighed before it began to gallop out of the horse stable, and out of the village._

_Dawn glanced behind her, her hair brushing past her cheeks as the horse gradually sped up, and the small village and mansion slowly shrank until it was nothing but a distant vision, forever engraved in her mind.

* * *

_

Dawn glanced above her, the red frame of her hood obscuring her vision to an extent. The bell around her neck rang occasionally when Dawn decided to back up slightly from being sandwiched against Paul's back. The sky was gradually darkening to a shade of navy blue, nearly indistinguishable now from the color black. A large, round bright moon had already floated to the top of the sky. The trail was a light colored soil, but the darkness cast throughout the forest all around Dawn made her shiver in fright. She clung closer to Paul, tightening her hands together slightly, biting her lip nervously.

Paul glanced back, before snorting.

"What, are you afraid of the dark?"

Dawn twitched.

"Shut the hell up, you freaking douche bag."

Dawn heard Paul release a quick lungful of air and mutter something under his breath. They rode what seemed like a few more hours, and when Dawn went to glance at the sky again, the moon had already reached its zenith.

"Let's stop here." Paul jerked against the reins and the horse neighed in annoyance before it began to slow down to a soft trot. Dawn could hear the sounds of a river close by, and released Paul to hop down from the horse.

"We'll rest here for the rest of the night." Paul remarked blandly to Dawn, before taking the reins and leading the horse to the river. Dawn followed closely by, not wanting to get lost in the darkness.

"It's creepy." Dawn murmured to herself, a frown marring her face as she clutched the golden bell around her neck in an attempt to stifle the sound.

"You sound like a scared little rabbit."

"Well, thanks so much." Dawn sighed, already annoyed with Paul.

'Making small talk with him is impossible.' Dawn huffed, lips pursing together in annoyance.

They sat by the river, the water shallow and crystal clear, the vivid light of the moon reflecting across the surface, and appeared to be shivering as the waves rippled over rocks and down past the horizon.

Dawn leaned against a willow tree bent over the river, her breathing slowing as her eyes began to fall. Paul turned to look at Dawn, his right hand dangling loosely at his side, reins clutched in his left. Her chest rose up and down softly, straining against the white fabric of the dress; yet her shoulders still held a tension to them – as if she couldn't completely relax, even in sleep. Her indigo hair contrasted sharply against the pale of her skin and the white of her dress, the blood red hood pulled over her head complimentary to the color of her hair.

Paul shook his head quickly of all thoughts, scoffing quietly to himself.

The sharp break of a twig was the only sound next to the creek, resonating deep within the forest but still too close to Paul for his own comfort. He flipped around, his right hand already holding his dagger, the slight rust of blood decorating the edge and tip.

"Dawn!" He hissed as quietly as he could.

Dawn jerked herself awake when she heard Paul's voice. She opened her eyes sleepily, as her vision adjusted once again to the night. Paul was tense – and the glint of his blade against the moonlight caused her to snap her eyes open and stiffen against the tree. Her breathing began to quicken as she turned her head to the darkness. She heard the snap of a few more twigs before a young man stepped out from behind the trees and into the moonlight.

"Whoa there – no need to be so hostile!" The boy waved his hands around in front of him, a nervous look on his face, his floppy brown hair brushing past his eyes, obscuring his pupils from view.

"Hansel, where did you go – kyaa!" The young girl shrieked as she appeared behind her brother, her brunette hair pulled into two pigtails, large white ribbons in her hair that created the illusion of bunny ears.

"Paul! They're just kids. Put the freaking knife away!" Dawn hissed, and Paul glanced at Dawn and gave her a dirty look.

"Were you listening to anything I said –"

"Put it away!" Dawn gave Paul a withering glare, who groaned in response before shuffling the dagger back into its place, shaking his head.

"I'm seriously going to let you die if you get into any trouble." Paul mumbled under his breath, glaring pointedly at Dawn who waved him off.

"I'm sorry to scare you guys like that!" Dawn smiled cheerfully at the two young children. "What are your names?"

"I'm Hansel, and I'm 12!" Hansel gave Dawn a sweet, shy smile, a pleasant red hue appearing on his cheeks.

"And I'm Gretel! I'm… ah – I'm 10!" She held her two hands up, her voice cute and childish.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Dawn, and the _prick_ over there is Paul." Dawn's voice darkened at the mention of Paul's name, but a bright, sunny smile remained on her face. She heard Paul scoff behind her.

"Ah – Dawn-nee-chan, what are you doing out in the forest so late at night? If you'd like, you can stay at our house!" Gretel suggested, immediately grabbing Dawn's hands and jumping up and down, an excited look on her face.

"We don't – "

"We'd love to!" Dawn cut Paul off, who glared angrily at her.

"Yay!" Gretel cheered, throwing her arms up in the air, the ribbons flopping cutely like bunny ears.

* * *

"Here's our home!" Hansel led Dawn and Paul up a stone pathway to a pleasant brown cottage, the chimney releasing large gray clouds, and the smell of smoke heavy in the air. There were beautiful, neon colored flowers decorating the pathway and along the house.

"You have a very pretty house!" Dawn smiled at Gretel, who giggled in response, their hands linked.

They entered the house, and Hansel immediately led them to the two rooms in the back of the first floor.

"You guys can stay in these rooms!"

Dawn paused, looking around for a moment.

"Where are your parents, Hansel?" Dawn cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed. Hansel gave Dawn a blank stare before his eyes lit up.

"Oh! They had to go to the next town to get some tools. We want to build a shed, so Mama and Papa left to get them!"

"Hmm, but you're so young! Leaving children alone for such a long time is dangerous, you know." Dawn scolded, waving her finger lightly.

"Oh, it's okay really! Besides, it would have been too expensive to take us as well!" Hansel smiled.

"Mmm…" Dawn placed a finger to her chin, her brows still furrowed south as her lips pursed tightly together.

Gretel gave a big yawn at that moment, moving her small hand to cover her mouth.

"Oh? I think it's time to go to bed, huh, Gretel?" Dawn smiled down at Gretel, who gave a sleepy, half-lidded smile back.

"Ahhn…" Gretel remarked, wobbling on her feet. Dawn wondered for a moment where all her energy had gone.

"I'll take her to bed! You guys get a good night sleep!" Hansel bowed amiably, before picking up his younger and considerably smaller sibling, heading up the wooden stairs. Dawn smiled at the lingering image of the cute brother and sister, when she heard Paul slam the door to the room next to hers. She turned and frowned at the door.

'What a sourpuss!'

* * *

"Here, you can wear this! It's Mama's!" Hansel smiled as he walked into the room, the door still open.

"Oh, thank you!" It was a plain white nightgown, with thick straps and cinched underneath her bust before flaring out and stopping mid thigh, a pair of puffy white shorts to wear underneath.

Shutting the door after Hansel, Dawn quickly threw her clothes off before pulling the nightwear on. She flopped tiredly onto the soft, comfortable bed, and before long was sound asleep.

* * *

Dawn turned in the comfortable large bed, clutching at the soft pillow against her body.

"Nnn…" She murmured, before flopping on her opposite side again. The creak of wooden floorboards and the twist of a metal knob were the only sounds resonating throughout the house. Dawn let out a pleasant breath, sleeping heavily and unknowingly.

"Ah, is she asleep, Hansel-nii-chan?" The soft voice of Gretel echoed through her room.

"Looks like it, Gretel." Hansel snickered in the dark.

"What a stupid girl." Gretel giggled quietly, her hands placed over her pretty mouth that was curled in a bloodthirsty smile.

The sound of clothed feet padding against wooden floors and the occasional squeak of the floorboards were growing closer and closer to where Dawn was.

"Hurry, nii-chan, I'm hungry." Gretel whined delicately in the dark.

"Hush now, Gretel." Hansel turned to look at Gretel, index finger raised to his lips. Gretel gave an annoyed little pout, crossing her arms together.

"Nngg…" Dawn started, before turning on her side to face the two young children, eyes still shut, breathing inaudibly through her nose. The two siblings froze quickly, before relaxing at Dawn's sleeping face.

"Idiot girl." Hansel smirked.

The slowly raising glint of metal stalled high in the air, a glow shimmering off it's edge before it shot down, leaving a trail of shattered moonlight and the promise of blood.

* * *

Dawn. How could you be such a light sleeper out in the forest and such a heavy sleeper inside the house when your life is in danger?

Well, anyways…

I know this chapter was short, but I wanted to end it there.

Chapters won't be written purely based on how many words I want in a chapter, but rather how far I want to advance plot-wise. Right now, I'm establishing the… insanity of the world? Lol whatever! **/shot/**

Some author's notes:

YAY! Hansel and Gretel! Guess what they wanna do? (It rhymes with beat and lawn!)

And the reason this chapter is titled 'The House Made of Gingerbread' is a direct reference to Hansel and Gretel, although they aren't living per se in the gingerbread house.


	4. Chapter 3: Stained

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 3: Stained

* * *

_/ / the tiny drop traces my cheek / /_

_/ / the wind carries your scent / /_

_/ / the forest's voice whispers, the night sky ripens / /

* * *

_

_hush hush h u s h

* * *

_

So I've pretty much decided to write out like, every single chapter and just upload 'em when I feel like I've re-read the story and fixed any errors I made.

Right. I wrote I think like five chapters in one night. I give myself a day or so before I go back and look at it, so I can have a better err, I don't know lol it's just better that way!

Ah, Hansel and Gretel. Aren't they cute?

Anyways, sorry for this late update, I'm currently not in the U.S. right now… I'm in JAPAN! AHHHHHHH! Ahem. On to the story!

* * *

_"Idiot girl." Hansel smirked._

_The slowly raising glint of metal stalled high in the air, a glow shimmering off it's edge before it shot down, leaving a trail of shattered moonlight and the promise of blood._

* * *

Dawn's eyes shot open at that moment and quickly raised her wrist to slam it against Hansel's wrist, throwing the boy backwards into his sister and out the room.

Gretel hissed in pain as she slammed in to the floor, Hansel landing on top of her with a grunt.

Hansel immediately jumped up, large knife in his hand pointed forward, the start of the hilt close to his chest. Gretel flipped over before running straight towards the kitchen and grabbing the large butcher knife from where it sat on the counter.

"I thought you said she was asleep!" Gretel yelled, panting heavily as she held the large weapon in both her hands.

"Well how was I – gah!" The young boy jumped back, knife raised up as another dagger slammed straight into it, the clang of metal on metal resonating throughout the house.

"What the hell did I tell you?" Paul sneered at Dawn, an annoyed look on his face.

"They were just little kids!"

"I told you not to trust anybody!"

"W-well I didn't think you were being serious!"

"Fuck – you're so stupid!"

"Excuse me! And you're an emotionally stunted stupid little prick!"

Hansel growled angrily at the two teens ignoring him and with a loud cry lunged at Paul, elbows pointed outwards and the dagger facing forward, hand behind the tip of the hilt that remained close to his chest.

Paul turned, an annoyed grunt coming from deep within his throat as he blocked and parried the smaller child.

"I'm hungry! Now be a good girl and die!" Gretel shrieked, running towards Dawn, butcher knife held down low near her knees on her right side. Dawn turned her attention to the little girl approaching quickly who swung messily the weapon a little too large for her, slowly and with immense mediocrity. Dawn dodged easily before grabbing the thing closest to her – a dining room chair – and slamming it against the little girl's back, a piece of the wood splintering as the chair shattered apart and piercing Gretel's back, staining her dark green dress with a dazzling color of red. Gretel slumped to the ground, the butcher knife under her loose hand.

"Oh my god – Gretel!" Dawn screamed, tears rushing to her eyes as her mind barely had time to register what had happened, before rushing for the girl. "Shit – I didn't mean for that to happen – oh my god are you – fuck!" Dawn jumped back all in the span of a few seconds when Gretel's hand tightened against the butcher knife's handle and swung it upwards at Dawn, who barely managed to dodge the attack.

"My – how rude, Dawn, hurting a little girl." It seemed as though Gretel's voice had aged into her mid-20s, and Dawn couldn't help but stare at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

"W-what? Holy shit – what just happened? You sound like you've already hit puberty!" Dawn glanced at Paul who had landed next to her. Hansel walked calmly and smoothly up behind Gretel, before yanking the large and thick piece of wood out of her back. It was half coated in thick blood that dripped down to the floor slowly, spattering against the dark wooden floors, and Dawn couldn't help but grimace. Hansel tossed the wood to the side.

"You really are an imbecile, aren't you?" Gretel remarked, her index finger pressed against her chin. Dawn fumed silently beside Paul.

"How long has the tale of Hansel and Gretel been around?" Hansel started, voice suddenly too old for his face.

"Uh – a…really long time?"

"Try the 19th century, oh clever one." Hansel smiled pleasantly, eyes frigid.

"You see, we don't age physically like you do, Dawn-nee-chan. But we do mentally and internally, so in return our voices and our minds will mature but not our bodies." Gretel's voice was sugary sweet like crystallized honey, but sharp like the jagged edges of broken glass digging too far into tightly clenched hands.

"S-so what happened to the witch?" Dawn yelled, waving her hands down in front of her.

"Well, what do you think happened to her?" Gretel smiled toothily. Dawn tensed at the question and the look in Gretel's eyes.

"…What happened to her?"

"We ate her, obviously." Gretel giggled, "And here she thought she was going to eat Hansel and I!"

"Hmm, ever since then any other kind of meat doesn't really compare to human flesh." Hansel piped in, giving the two companions a bloodthirsty look, before pulling the knife out once again and flipping it in his hand forward and jerking it irrationally at Paul. Dawn jumped out of the way of the two, Gretel following closely.

She trailed blood that slid down her legs and ankles, the blood from the deep wound in her back spilling between, underneath and past the folds of her dress. She left small footprints of blood, a maniac look in her eyes as she shot herself at Dawn.

"H-hey now, I don't wanna hurt you – really I don't!" Dawn yelled, waving her hands in front of her.

"Hah! Like you 'hurt' me earlier with that chair? Please! I'd like to see you try!" Gretel laughed hysterically, the butcher knife flying to her left hand, the hilt held in her hand and the blade facing outward, lined against her arm.

Dawn jumped over a counter in the kitchen, grabbing a thin but long cutting knife from the board that held the blades. Gretel jumped up nimbly after her, throwing her entire weight in a head-on attack at Dawn.

"Crap – " Dawn jumped up and backwards but only managed to trip and slam into the counter, her hands hitting the counter hard and her fingers curling desperately as her head flew backwards before crashing into the wall behind her.

"Fucking shit –!" Dawn hissed, one hand reaching up to grab her head, her blade clanging to the floor. Looking up, she saw Gretel chuckling to herself.

"You know, I don't think I've had this much fun killing someone!" Gretel clutched her stomach, and Dawn watched as the blood began to slide faster down her legs and pool against the floor, the strain of her laughter and bending causing the blood to flow faster. It was bright against the floor and Dawn bit her lip as she winced at the amount gathering all around little red buckled shoes and white socks.

Shutting her eyes tightly and ignoring the pain resounding in the back of her head, Dawn dropped down to the floor before grabbing the knife once again. She clutched it tightly in her right hand. Gretel gave one more darling smile before it twisted on her baby face into something maniacal, and she flew at Dawn, butcher knife raised high for the pure intention of hacking Dawn's neck off. Dawn grabbed Gretel's wrist before she could swing down, who in return used her other hand in an attempt to pry off Dawn's hand.

"I don't think I ever want kids now!" Dawn yelled before slamming the knife straight into Gretel's heart. The girl gave a wide-eyed stare for a moment, her head shaking as she turned to look at Dawn, eyes blank and a wide, perverse smile crawling onto her face before she slumped in Dawn's hand, the butcher knife clattering against the floor as her hands loosened and let go. Dawn felt tears gathering in her eyes as she felt the warm blood flowing between her fingers as it traveled down her wrist and arm to her elbow before drip, drip dropping down to the ground, and the sickening sound of flesh and blood sliding against a sharp blade as Gretel's body fell backwards and away from Dawn.

"GRETEL!" Dawn's head snapped up as she stared at Hansel, his eyes stormy with fury as he began to run towards Dawn, crying out angrily and the dagger rose, ready to strike.

Dawn simply stared at him, the knife in her hand dropping to the ground as her mind blanked out and the next thing she knew Hansel had stopped, eyes wide and mouth open wide like a fish, before his eyes turned glassy and he fell, three large blades protruding from his back. Blood rushed forth from his wounds and pooled all around his body, staining his white shirt bright red.

* * *

Dawn threw the nightgown and shorts on the floor, the clothes stained with blood and ripped in several places. She grabbed a rag and began to scrub the blood from her hand and arm, dark and somewhat faded against her skin. Dawn began to sniff once again, but held her tears back as the blood slowly washed off and away from her, turning the water in the dish a pale pink color.

She threw the rag opposite of her before pulling on her clothes and the cloak, dragging the hood over her head. Dawn walked out of her room only to be greeted by an apathetic Paul.

"Here. You'll need this." Dawn's eyes widened and her first instinct was to slap the item away from her. Paul held in his hand the knife she'd used to kill Gretel with.

"I-I don't want that." Dawn's voice shook for a moment, as she stared intently at the now clean blade. Paul sighed.

"Look. If you hadn't grabbed this earlier, you'd be dead right now. Take it. You won't be so lucky next time."

Dawn's head snapped up, her mouth forming silently the words, 'next time'. Paul shook his head before wrapping a thick leather cloth around the blade and placing the weapon in Dawn's hand.

"Well, while we're here we should be sure to grab some things before we leave." Paul glanced around, rummaging as Dawn stood and stared at the blade, frozen in place. Paul found two drawstring bags and began to fill one with various things. He threw the other in Dawn's direction, before turning and glancing at her. He paused, before standing up straight.

"What are you doing, Dawn?" He asked quietly, who turned to look at him with lost eyes.

"How can you brush it off so easily…?"

"…" Paul stayed silent; as Dawn took a deep breathe in to steady her nerves.

"How do you just… kill somebody and brush it off like nothing happened?" Dawn's voice began to grow in volume and shrillness.

She was breathing heavily, staring at Paul with confused eyes. He glanced away from Dawn for a moment, before turning again, shrugging his shoulders and his eyes cold.

"I'm used to it. You may have never had to bother with this, but I've lived around it all my life. And if you want to survive, _you'd better start getting used to it too_."

* * *

The backpack kept hitting her every time the horse jumped, but Dawn didn't really notice it. She held mechanically onto Paul as the horse raced through the forest, glittering in the morning sun from the dew that had settled on it the night before.

Dawn turned her head and took a deep breath as she buried her face into Paul's back, attempting to steady her nerves and tumbling stomach. Paul paid her no mind as he saw the glimmering city and mansion that he called home, slowly begin to rise over the horizon of the forest path.

"Dawn."

Paul felt Dawn move her face upward, her chin digging into his back.

"What?"

"We're here."

Dawn leaned to the right past Paul as she stared at the sprawling houses shuttered close together, stone pathways and a sprawling white estate located in the middle of it all.

She took a deep breath of the cool morning air as the horse took off once again, her mind once again thinking of Zoey.

* * *

Yeah. I hope you don't think Dawn was out of character with the whole almost crying thing.

Hey, I think I would too if I just killed somebody.

But, yeah, I want Dawn to retain some sort of humanity inside of her, which is why she freaked after hitting Gretel with the chair. It was instinct, I say, instinct!

I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter, I guess... I mean, it was better than I had thought it out but I hope you didn't hate it too much. And I hope the whole Hansel and Gretel age/voice thing kind of made sense... kind of maybe? Not really? Yeahh...


	5. Chapter 4: Tell Me

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 4: Tell Me

_/ / masquerade / /_

_/ / hide your face, so the world will never find you / /_

_/ / run and hide – / /

* * *

_

_but a face will still p u r s u e you

* * *

_

Tell me, what does Mr. Wolf want with dear Zoey?

* * *

_Dawn leaned to the right past Paul as she stared at the sprawling houses shuttered close together, stone pathways and a sprawling white estate located in the middle of it all._

_She took a deep breath of the cool morning air as the horse took off once again, her mind once again thinking of Zoey.

* * *

_

The hooves of the horse clapped loudly against the stone pathway that led to the estate that began to grow larger, as Dawn moved closer and closer to it. She took in a deep, steady breath as her nerves began to go haywire, heart pounding and blood rushing. She somewhat hated the feeling, knowing well that the sensations running through her blood were from excitement, from seeing new places, even after all that had happened the past few days.

Dawn glanced around her, the village that lay before the small, only a few people dressed in formal outfits wandering about. They turned to stare at her curiously, as the horse flew by them, and in an instant they were gone as she passed the end of the edge of the village, towards the large iron wrought gates of the estate.

"Hey… Paul, where is this?"

Dawn looked curiously at Paul as he turned slightly to look at her, before glancing back forward.

"This is Sinnoh. This region is ruled by my family."

"Eeeeh!" Paul winced at Dawn's high-pitched squeak, who stared at him in shock.

"Then… what does that make you?" Dawn questioned, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm just a Count." Paul spoke easily, as if he'd explained this before, "My brother… was the Duke."

"Eh? What about your parents?" Dawn attempted to crane her head to look at Paul's face closer.

"They died, when I was younger." He cut the sentence off there, and Dawn could tell that he wasn't willing to push it further.

Dawn blinked.

"What do you mean your brother _was_ the Duke?"

"…." Paul stayed silent, and Dawn stared at him a few seconds longer, watching the lines harden on his face a miniscule amount, the sound of wind rushing in her ears.

* * *

"C-count! What are you doing back so early?" The old man looked shocked at first, before catching the bag Paul had thrown at him. He gave Dawn a friendly smile before offering his hand for her bag as well.

"Plans changed. I somehow managed to pick up some extra baggage." The man nodded as Paul continued to walk forward, the sound of Dawn's slow walking clicking against the tile the only sound next to the hushed whispers of a Count and his servant.

Dawn glanced around her. The estate was white and regal, large Corinthian columns lining down the hallway. The tile was simply black and white, giving the giant castle a regal air to it, contrary to the whimsical feel of the Duke's castle.

Dawn turned forward, only to find that Paul and the butler had already gained quite a few feet in front of her, before running to catch up, the small heel of her shoe clicking loudly and sharply against the tile floor.

"…Jin, I need you to prepare a room for Dawn." Dawn glanced at the butler, whom she now knew was named Jin, as he nodded and handed their bags to a younger man, both dressed in black vest suits.

"Hey, Paul…" Dawn started, but stopped when Paul turned to her, giving her a look before walking off. Jin smiled warmly at the young lady, who pouted and glared in the direction the mauve haired boy had wandered off to.

"Miss Dawn, shall I escort you to your room?" Dawn turned to look at Jin, giving him a confused and strange look at first, before nodding.

"S-sure…"

The walk through the multiple corridors was like a maze, and Dawn attempted to create a mental map of the turns and statues she'd passed and made so she wouldn't get lost when trying to return to the main foyer.

"Here you are, Miss Dawn. Paul's room is just down that hall." Dawn stared at the double doors of her room, and looked to her left at the even larger mahogany double doors, intricate details woven straight into the wood.

"T-thanks…" Jin opened the doors in front of her, before politely excusing himself after placing her bag on the chair close to the doors, dropping a few lines about clothes in the closet and such, before the doors shut once more.

They were loud and unforgiving, and Dawn turned to stare at the room in front of her, sudden exhaustion grabbing at her body and her wits, the edges of her mind frayed with worry.

Dawn quickly collapsed on her canopy bed, breathing in the scent of the sheets heavily, tears suddenly springing up in her eyes again.

She quickly sat up, throwing her shoes off and ripping her stockings off, wiping at her eyes angrily, teeth clenched.

"I hate it here…" She groaned into her pillow, clutching it tightly to herself.

She thought of Paul, and his cold attitude and the words that echoed constantly in her mind.

_'And if you want to survive, you'd better start getting used to it too.'_

She thought of Zoey, and the crepes they used to eat on the way back after school whenever Zoey had the time, and she thought of the Duke from when she first fell through the portal, and his words.

'_You wouldn't want Zoey to die before the game's started, now would you?'_

She took in a steady breath, thoughts flying through her mind, questions surrounding her missing friend, whether she was alive, if she was hurt, whether or not the Duke had done something terrible to her…?

Dawn shook her head quickly, as if shaking would dissipate the thoughts from her mind. A few sprung in her mind about Paul, who was his brother, where was he, what happened to him and why had he been a Duke and why wasn't he now?

Dawn flipped from her belly to her back, and pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes, pillow squished in the crook of her elbow, as she attempted to cool her emotions. She pulled the pillow over her face, as she felt herself unable to control the feeling of utter despair bubbling from under the surface and into her mind and heart.

Dawn pulled the plush pillow to smother her face as uncontrollable sobs racked her body, the feel of the pillow wet against her cheeks, her breathing heavy as she threw the pillow onto the floor. She stared at the sheer sheets of her canopy and the intricate woodwork of the ceiling molding, tears trailing down her cheeks. She couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried, as she attempted to choke in a breath, the feelings of her lungs constricting under the pressure of her own sobs.

* * *

A few hours had passed since Dawn had first begun to cry. The tears had dried up soon enough, and Dawn had fallen into a fitful sleep, the first she'd managed in a few days. She'd woken up to the sound of knocking on her door, the noise reverberating and bouncing off the walls of her room.

"Miss Dawn, it's time to eat." A young girl's voice floated in the air, muffled by the door, and Dawn simply called back before stumbling out of her bed, legs feeling like jell-o, and her arms shaking slightly. Dawn glanced at herself in the mirror, straightening out her ruffled dress and rubbing her eyes, only slightly puffy from the crying, before opening the door as the maid led her down the hallway.

Dawn arrived in a large dining room, a long table situated in the center, multiple dark mahogany chairs lining the sides, while one chair remained at both ends. At one end sat Paul, cutlery, plates and such situated in front of him, as Dawn sat down in the chair at the opposite end of him, her own set of silverware already set up.

A young man poured her a glass of water, the ice clinking against the glass. Dawn stared at it for a moment, before turning to Paul. He wasn't looking at her, but rather at the glass in his hand.

"Hey… Paul…." Dawn started, watching Paul for any indication of receiving his attention.

"What, Dawn?" Paul sighed, before placing his glass down next to his plate.

"How long will we be staying here?"

Paul paused a moment, before answering logically, "As long as we'll need to."

Dawn frowned, "And how long do you think that'll be?"

"Until we've gained significant information on why the Duke chose your friend Zoey, and where she might possibly be located."

Dawn blinked, "You don't think she's at his mansion?"

"No, I believe she is." Paul remarked, as the first dish came out, the sound of porcelain against porcelain and the rustle of clothes and the shuffle of footsteps echoing throughout the large room.

"Then, what do you mean where she might 'possibly be located'?" Dawn threw up a few air quotes, as Paul began to eat, poised and calm.

"It's a pretty large mansion. I do know that there is a dungeon somewhere in his house, but I don't know where exactly. I'm assuming he's keeping them there." Dawn nodded, a concentrated look on her face as she processed his words carefully.

"A dungeon…?" Dawn winced at the sound, immediately associating it with blood, abuse, and rape.

Paul glanced at her, before returning to his food, "If you're wondering, it's probably worse than you think it is."

Dawn glared, "That offers me no comfort."

"It wasn't supposed to."

Dawn growled at his attitude, violently stabbing the food with her fork and shoving it into her mouth, chewing angrily.

They sat in silence for a few moments, as Dawn began to chew her food slower, staring at her plate.

"…You know, you never answered my question about your brother."

Dawn blinked, glancing around her. It was as if the whole room had frozen, the maids and butlers looking tense as Paul stared hard at his food. Dawn gulped slightly, her mind screaming at her that there had been a reason he hadn't told her and that she'd clearly brought up the wrong subject for the dinner table.

Paul flicked his hand, voice steely, "Leave us." The room was cleared in a matter of seconds, doors shutting quietly behind them.

Dawn gripped her silver as she gave another loud gulp, sinking into her chair nervously.

"Do you really want to know what happened?" Paul started, glancing up at Dawn. She blinked a few times, before taking in a deep breath.

"Tell me."

* * *

_"…It's been indicated he's started taking humans from the other side." Reggie indicated, a serious look on his face whilst staring at the papers in front of him, hands gripping the table tightly._

_"…__This could get bad…"_

"…_How serious…"_

"_Humans, here?"_

"_What does he plan to do to them?"_

"… _Started with… girls close to his region… even a few from our town…"_

"… _Needs to be stopped…"_

"… _Quickly…or else…"_

_Paul glanced at the faces surrounding the table, all of them leaders of other regions in the area, their hushed whispers filling the room softly, but Paul could have sworn it was the loudest noise in the room._

_He glanced at his brother, who was staring hard at the pictures of nameless faces of girls, many smiling brightly in their pictures, with friends or standalone, with boyfriends or family members, each with a story to tell. He watched as his brother grit his teeth, papers askew all over, each containing detailed information of each girl, and scattered under all this were gruesome photos of dismembered bodies, blood splattered walls, girls whose smiling faces had been ripped off their skull, jaws set strangely and bones cracked and arms twisted into impossible positions._

_Paul stared at the familiar picture of the first victim, one whom had not been from the human world but from the very village that lay at the bottom of his estate. One whom they had found almost no trace of, save for a single finger and a familiar wedding band – his brother's wife.

* * *

_

_Paul sat in the nook of his window, staring out at the moon as it began to disappear behind darkened clouds, the color of red fading and bleeding through the clouds, the moon edged by the shade of blood._

_Paul started at the sight – an ominous sign common in the stories he'd heard as a child – before movement caught his eye. He watched as his brother flew from the estate by horse._

_Pausing for only a moment, Paul jumped from the nook into the tree by his window, falling gracefully to the ground before heading straight for the horse stable. He followed behind his brother at a considerable distance, but he could hear his brother rushing the horse faster, to run quicker, his voice urgent and strained, barely contained anger hiding beneath the serious sound of his voice._

_They'd arrived towards the estate of the Duke quickly enough, having run straight for a few hours, without a single break. Paul glanced at the sky; the moon already beginning it's fall towards the horizon._

_Paul followed quietly behind his brother, who made quick work of the guards, a clean slit across the throat as blood rushed forward and the sound of gurgling and the soft thud of bodies against the floor the only noise inside the mansion. Paul hid behind a column, body forward as he stared at his brother, not hearing or feeling the presence of another behind him._

_Rushing through the large double doors, Reggie threw them open, only to find the Duke sitting in his chair, a wolfish grin settled across his face._

"_I had a feeling you would be here tonight!" The Duke laughed, a somewhat barking sound escaping his mouth._

"_Why you…" Reggie started, until the Duke rose a finger upwards, smiling pleasantly._

"_I would hold your tongue… for it looks as though you didn't come alone."_

_Paul grunt as he was thrown against the tile in front of his brother, blood rushing from the deep wound in the side of his abdomen. He placed a hand over it, gritting his teeth in pain._

"_Paul!" Reggie started, staring at the blood dripping slowly and thickly against the floor, the bright red color staining Paul's hand._

"_Shit, Paul, what are you doing here?" Reggie grabbed his brother, pulling them a good distance back as he glanced up at a young girl smiling deliriously, as she pulled gently at the rabbit ear with her left hand, a large blade dangling precariously from her left hand as blood dripped down the blade and fell onto the floor, the other clutched tightly in her right. The Duke licked his lips as his eyes followed the trail of the falling blood, a wide smile set on his face._

"_The better question is… why did you come here…?" Paul coughed up some blood, a trail sliding down from the corner of his mouth._

_Reggie immediately pulled his brother behind him, moving towards him in a protective motion. Paul stared at the silhouette of his brother as he fell to his knees, pain wracking his body, as an arm pushed him gently back to keep him out of harms way._

"_Here to get revenge, Reggie?" The Duke smiled pleasantly, pulling the chin of Snow-White close to him, who simply cooed back, blankly._

"_Why'd you do it?" Reggie grit his fists, knuckles turning white and rivulets appearing on his palms that broke and small trails of blood rushed forward, sliding between his fingers and onto the floor._

"_Hmm, why, you ask…?" The Duke paused, placing a finger mockingly on his chin, "Well… I got bored of my regular food… so I thought, why not change the menu up?"_

_He shrugged, smiling pleasantly once again, a barely contained wolfish grin threatening to break against his calm façade._

"_You bastard!" Reggie screamed, as he rushed forward. The Duke simply waved Snow-White and Rose-Red away, who stepped back as the Duke rose, pulling out his own rapier, parrying Reggie's close-range attacks._

"_You know, she was quite a feisty one! It was quite enjoyable breaking her." The Duke laughed, dodging a swipe from Reggie._

"_Shut up!" He shrieked, Reggie's movements becoming sloppy as he became overcome with anger._

"_I would have kept her for a few more enjoyable acts, but really now, she was quite more fun to eat than she was to rape." The Duke laughed again, the sound graceful and flowing, a strange contrast to his words._

"_Fuck!" Reggie screeched, lunging one more time, but as the Duke dodged he could feel the tip of his rapier against his stomach, and the cruel smirk that crawled across the Duke's face caused Paul's blood to run cold._

_Paul watched as the rapier pierced cleanly through his brother, blood bursting through his back and flooding down his front, coating his clothes in crimson. Reggie spat up blood, staring at the color of red as it blend in with the tiles below his feet. He felt the rapier being ripped from his body before he fell to the ground and down the few steps leading up towards where the Duke usually sat._

"_Brother… BROTHER!" Paul screamed angrily, clutching his own wound painfully. Reggie turned to look at Paul slowly, the light slowly fading from his eyes as he smiled sadly, his mouth silently moving to form a single word to Paul._

'_Run.'_

_Paul shook, before jumping up and turning on his heel, a wail of anguish erupting from his throat as he ran down the hallway, the shadows ominous and rows of columns passing him. Glancing back, he watched as Rose-Red smiled, waving and smiling pleasantly before she raised her blade, the metal glinting in the candle light, before it flew down and he could hear the sickening crack and break of bone against metal as he watched his brother's head roll away from his body._

_Bursting through the mansion doors, Paul continued to run, the first hint of dawn breaking in the distance.

* * *

_

Sooo…. Yeah now you all know what happened to Paul's brother! And yes, Reggie is the name of Paul's brother. Look it up on serebii (dot) net!

If you don't know what Corinthian columns look like…. Wiki it!

So… hope Dawn's episode didn't bother you. I would have had an episode as well! Lol.

SO I GOTTA TELL YA SOMETHIN'… I REALLY WANNA MAKE PAUL AND DAWN HAVE HOT SMEX ALREADY D: BUT I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE TOO SOON, THIS SUCKS THIS WHOLE PLOT AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THING.

Lol. :P


	6. Chapter 5: Zoey

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 5: Zoey

_/ / here in this room, he calls me softly / /_

_/ / somewhere inside, hiding / /_

_/ / he, the unseen tutor / /

* * *

_

_I only wish I knew your s e c r e t

* * *

_

OHHHH DANG. SORRY FOR THE RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF TIME IT TOOK TO GET THIS UP.

To be totally honest I had this chapter finished for like…. Fifty months like I had finished it RIGHT after I uploaded chapter 4 ahahahahahahaha /shot\

Ahem. Actually I had it finished but it wasn't to my satisfaction so I just… didn't upload it, thinking the next day I would TOTALLY be able to look back at it and re-work it. You know what your English teachers say about leaving your work for a day before you revise it, because that always helps? YEAH I thought I would try that! …Except that day turned into oh, I don't know like what, a couple of months?

Ahahahahahahahaha /shot again\

Good lord though, there was so much in this chapter that I had written that completely contradicted what I wrote in some of the past chapters, so I had to re-word and re-work almost ALL of it. Especially the naked scene – AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YEAH it's not really a nakie scene… honestly!

**I wanna dedicate this chapter to all my fans, and my favorite pals mednin and ThE . D e S i . D o L L for always being there, and all of our enjoyable conversations! THIS IS FOR ALL OF YOU FANS SNIFF SNIFF I WOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT YOU T_T I WILL GIVE YOU YOUR IKARI SMEX I PROMISE!**

* * *

_Paul shook, before jumping up and turning on his heel, a wail of anguish erupting from his throat as he ran down the hallway, the shadows ominous and rows of columns passing him. Glancing back, he watched as Rose-Red smiled, waving and smiling pleasantly before she raised her blade, the metal glinting in the candle light, before it flew down and he could hear the sickening crack and break of bone against metal as he watched his brother's head roll away from his body._

___Bursting through the mansion doors, Paul continued to run, the first hint of dawn breaking in the distance.

* * *

_

Dawn stared at Paul's face, her body still and breathing soft – almost as if she feared that if she moved or breathed too loudly, it would break the moment. Dawn felt compassion and pity welling in her chest, as Paul looked away, his normally stoic eyes filled with nothing but anger – and something else, regret perhaps – the mystery behind his past now revealed. Dawn paused, before pulling in a deep breath. Paul glanced up at her, eyes apathetic once again.

Dawn stared somberly at her plate for a moment, before her eyes pulled upwards to look at Paul, as the maids and butlers lined the room once again.

"…Do you really think Zoey is still alive…?" Dawn's voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes meeting Paul's briefly – and she could feel the bite of electric vipers fly down her spine for only a moment – and she could feel her heart begin to beat faster and faster.

Paul closed his eyes for a moment, eyebrows furrowed as he thought, before opening his eyes once again.

"…Yes, I believe she's still alive." Dawn blinked as her head shot up, hands clenched in her lap beneath the table.

"You do?"

Paul nodded, "The Duke never picks two girls from one area, not to mention two in such a close time range. He's probably holding her somewhere – I'm just not sure where. He owns a lot of land – so for all we know she could be on the other side of the country by now."

Dawn bobbed her head up and down rapidly, "Now that I think about it, the invitation I got did mention that we were "betting my friend's life" so she must be alive, right?"

"Most likely. The only problem now is where is he keeping her?" Paul frowned, staring at the large tapestry on the wall, almost as if it would give him answers if he kept staring at it.

"I thought you said he was probably keeping her at his mansion?" Dawn prodded, and Paul sighed, before looking at her.

"I would assume that he's keeping her close to him in his mansion, however it's not the only option available. Even though the Duke isn't allied with very many people – most of us think he's more of a liability than an asset – he can't be hiding her in any places he doesn't have influence in… however he could hide her in one of his homes that he has scattered in the lands he owns… which is a lot, mind you."

Dawn groaned, "So basically, we're screwed."

Paul rolled his eyes, "You say that as if I don't have people watching the places he has homes in."

Dawn raised an eyebrow, "You're stalking him?" Paul glared at one of the younger maids, who quickly attempted to mask a smile and a snort behind her hand.

"No, you stupid girl, I'm not stalking him. I keep tabs on all of my enemies. Haven't you heard that saying, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer'?" Paul leaned back in his chair, an eyebrow raised at Dawn, who pouted in return.

"Stupid girl? You could have just said, 'No, Dawn, I'm a good ruler so I watch my enemies' or something like that would have sufficed!" Dawn whined, crossing her arms angrily.

Paul snorted, before smirking easily at Dawn, "Sorry, but stupid girl seems to suit you better."

Dawn gaped for a moment, before her face twisted into an angry pout, "Why you…!"

Dawn began her verbal retaliation, not quite noticing the stress and tension fading slowly as she began to relax.

* * *

Dawn sighed happily as the water hit her tired body. Water pelted her like hot needles, soothing and relaxing her sore body. With all the things that had happened, having a warm shower and soft bed was a blessing that Dawn would never take for granted ever again. Lathering her body with a slick scented soap, Dawn's thoughts began to drift towards her captive friend, Zoey.

What could he be doing to her?

How scared was she?

Where was he keeping her?

…Was she alive?

Dawn shook her head rapidly. Doubt filled her soul at whether or not Zoey was actually alive. All she wanted to do was believe that Zoey was still fine, but there was always the twinge of doubt lurking in the bottom of her stomach. She saw the way he treated those two crazies by his side – like they were disposable toys used to fight. Zoey wasn't like them – no matter how athletic and how skilled she was at martial arts, Zoey couldn't possibly keep up like those two girls. Dawn breathed, leaning her forehead against the cool tile of the bathroom shower, hand pressed against the wall. The water slid down her back, the heat never once waning.

Shutting off the water, she slid down into the tub, clutching her legs and resting her cheek on her knees. Her right hand reached out and pushed the plug into the drain, before turning on the hot water once again. The tub filled quickly with hot water, hotter than the shower that slightly caused her nerves to tingle and hurt from the heat. The tub filled near full before Dawn finally shut the water off. Stretching her body out, Dawn leaned her head against the edge of the tub, the steam filling up the entire room. The heat emanated all around her, and Dawn felt her eyes slowly slip close.

"Miss Dawn, are you there?" The young maid frowned, as she continually knocked on the door of the bathroom, a few fluffy towels and a bottle of bubble bath resting atop it in her arms. There was no reply from the bathroom, and it was completely silent. She could hear the occasional drip of water hitting water when she pressed her ear against the door, but no sounds of life.

"Miss Dawn…?" The young girl began to knock on the door more frantically, fearing the worst had happened to the girl.

"Please, Miss Dawn, are you there?" The maid reached for the door handle and desperately attempted to open it. She was met with resistance, the lock firmly clicked into place. The towels fell from her arm, the bottle shattering on the floor.

Dawn breathed slightly, as her body shifted in the water. Her chin rest against the edge of the ceramic tub, her arms crossing and wrapped around her chin. She could faintly hear somebody knocking on the door, but simply ignored it as she continued to sleep.

"Dawn, open up." Paul looked irritated, a worried maid standing behind him.

"Dawn – are you in there? Stupid girl, unlock the door." Annoyance grew inside Paul, and his face was the perfect reflection of it.

"I-I'll go get Jin!" The young girl flew off in a flurry, shutting the doors to Dawn's room behind her. Paul grabbed the doorknob and attempted to open the door that way – an irritated look grew across his face before he simply kicked the door down.

The wood splintered and cracked under his foot, before it slammed to the ground. He could faintly hear Dawn's shriek as he looked up.

"Stupid girl –" Paul's mouth went dry as he stared at Dawn, who in her fear had stood straight up in the tub, stark naked. They stared at each other for a moment, and Paul watched as Dawn's eyes slowly widened before she started screaming.

* * *

After Dawn had promptly thrown Paul out of her room, she slid down the wood of her closed doors, eyes wide and chest heaving as she gasped for breath, her face the shade of a cheri berry.

As her breathing began to slow down, Dawn couldn't help as the image of Paul's shocked face popped back into her mind. She could have sworn she saw his eyes wander – Dawn gave a little yelp before jumping into her bed, shoving her face into her pillow as she screamed hysterically into it, trying to pound the image of him standing at her bathroom door, staring at her, praying to whatever God was left out there that he hadn't actually _looked _at her.

She'd noticed slowly that throughout their short time together, Dawn had slowly started to become attracted to Paul – on a physical level only, of course, she argued with herself. Who wouldn't be, she continued to mentally fight herself, after all he had saved her multiple times and not to mention he was _very_ good looking and a _very _good fighter and even had his sweet moments, but regardless, Dawn knew she didn't like him any more than that.

'Right?' Dawn nodded determinedly to herself. 'Right.'

She paused.

Before throwing her head back into her pillow and screaming as loudly as she possibly could.

* * *

Dawn stared quietly at her plate, shoulders tense and refusing to look at Paul the entire time during breakfast. She pushed her food around on her plate with her fork, her stomach too busy flipping and flopping and her entirety too embarrassed to look at Paul in the eyes. Paul rolled his eyes as he continued to eat, not bothering to look at Dawn either as he read through reconnaissance reports.

Dawn had originally not wanted to come downstairs to eat anything, but the maid who had called for Paul last night – she'd finally found out her name was Sasha – had insisted she get out of bed and eat breakfast, her reasoning being it was the most important meal of the day. Dawn had pulled every excuse out of the book, even some that weren't believable (_"No, really, I think I'm going to throw-up." "Why? You didn't have anything bad yesterday." "…I'm pregnant." "…."_) before finally giving in and venturing down the stairs into the dining room.

Paul had simply ignored her when she'd walked in, which she was quite grateful for, and sat down in the seat across the table from him. At this point, she was simply pushing her food around on her plate in a very tense manner. She'd only taken a few bites of her breakfast, her mind too busy going into overdrive about the fact that Paul had seen her last night, naked, in the bath. Dawn could feel herself turning red at this thought, her face scrunching up further.

"…Dawn."

"YES!" Dawn yelped in surprise, as everybody stared at her curiously. She felt her face turning redder. Paul rolled his eyes, before intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin on them, elbows against the table. He eyed her seriously, and Dawn could feel herself becoming tense again – but not from embarrassment. She was nervous.

"We've received a report that last night, from the Duke's house… a young girl was being carted away."

Dawn felt her breath hitch.

"They also said she wasn't a familiar looking girl… and that she had short red hair."

Dawn blinked, the world shattering beneath her.

"That's… gotta be Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed, standing up abruptly causing her chair to fly out from behind her.

Paul nodded, leaning back into his seat, "I thought as much. We're keeping tabs on where they're headed. We'll leave as soon as we find out where they are dropping her off."

Dawn took in a few deep breaths, her heart beating fast. She stared at her now cooling food, eyes wide.

Zoey was alive.

* * *

SORRY AGAIN THIS WAS SO LATE!

ZOEY IS ALIVE? WHERE ARE THEY TAKING ZOEY? WHERE WILL THEY STOP AT? WILL PAUL AND DAWN BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO WHERE THEY ARE HEADING! IS THAT REALLY ZOEY? Ahahahahahahahahaha well you'll find out eventually. LOL /shot multiple times\


	7. Chapter 6: Labyrinth

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 6: Labyrinth

* * *

_/ / if you could only see the beast you made of me / / _

_/ / I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free / /_

_/ / screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart / /

* * *

_

_drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating h e a r t

* * *

_

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

* * *

_"That's… gotta be Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed, standing up abruptly causing her chair to fly out from behind her._

_Paul nodded, leaning back into his seat, "I thought as much. We're keeping tabs on where they're headed. We'll leave as soon as we find out where they are dropping her off."_

_Dawn took in a few deep breaths, her heart beating fast. She stared at her now cooling food, eyes wide._

_Zoey was alive.

* * *

_

Dawn paced inside her room, before flopping onto her bed in an attempt to calm her nerves and her body. She only succeeded in tossing and turning on her bed, rolling around on the thick down comforter in distress. Her mind was flying and her body wasn't doing much to keep calm. She knew Zoey was alive. Now they had to wait to find out their final destination. Dawn turned her head away from the pillow, blowing from her nostrils in frustration. She turned onto her back, staring at the cloth of her canopy bed, thoughts mulling her mind.

She thought about Zoey, and how she must look now.

She thought about the Duke, and those crazy slaves of his.

She thought about Paul – Dawn shook her head violently. Okay, so she didn't think of him.

She thought of that note card and that letter inviting her into this darkness. She thought of betting Zoey's life, in this sick game of his.

Dawn paused.

She sat up at that moment, thinking of the invitation.

She was supposed to be playing a game, wasn't she?

'A game of tag…' Dawn placed her finger on her chin, eyebrows furrowed as she continued to think.

'I don't understand,' Dawn's eyes widened as her thoughts continued to fly through her head, 'If I'm supposed to be playing a game… what exactly am I supposed to be doing?'

Dawn breathed out for a moment, her entire body shaking for an unknown reason. Realization fell over Dawn, as panic began to rise in her body.

"What the hell am I doing? What am I supposed to be doing? Why am I here?" Dawn felt the words slip between her lips uncontrollably, as she thought about Zoey.

After all, she was here to play a game of 'tag' for Zoey's life, wasn't she?

Dawn frowned as she placed her hand against her head, not understanding anything. Everything muddled in her brain in a jumbled mass of confused thoughts, ranging from the game she was supposed to be playing, to where Zoey was being taken.

Flopping back down, Dawn closed her eyes as she attempted to take a nap before dinner.

She'd just wait, and ask Paul.

All that she had to do was wait.

…Wait.

* * *

Dawn awoke from her troubled light slumber as the sharp knocks on her door and the soft voice of Sasha.

"C-Coming!" Dawn managed to stutter out, as she scrambled from her bed. She fixed her wrinkled dress as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her face was solemn – bags under her eyes and her hands shaking slightly.

Shaking her head, Dawn turned swiftly on her heel before pulling on a pair of flats and walked out of her room, heading towards the dining area. The hallway was empty, and her footsteps echoed quietly against the carpet of the corridor.

'Game, game, game…' Dawn continued to think, before her thoughts flashed to Zoey's card.

'Zoey had to play a game… what could she have had to do?' Dawn's head filled with too many thoughts, all of which lacked proper answers. She'd arrived to the dining room doors faster than she had thought, and nearly rammed straight into Paul's chair.

"Oh – oops! That was a close one." Dawn breathed, as she dodged Paul's chair at the last second. Paul glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow at her odd behavior.

She took her place at the table, staring at the food as Jin placed the plate in front of her. Paul glanced at Dawn once again, watching her movements closely. She made no move to pick up her fork, but continued to stare at her food with an almost confused look on her face.

"… You pick the fork and knife up in order to eat it, stupid girl." Paul remarked, and he watched as Dawn looked up, blinking owlishly for a moment before realization flashed through her eyes and she took a couple of quick blinks.

"Um… yeah." Dawn managed lamely, before staring at her food again, hands folded tightly in her lap. She frowned deeply and at that moment Paul could feel a twinge of curiosity, or worry, in his chest.

He wanted to believe purely that it was curiosity.

"Hey… Paul… I have a question…" Dawn scrunched her nose up as she attempted to formulate a question.

"…Well, are you going to ask it?"

"…Oh, sorry! Um… well… I… erm…." Dawn stared at her food hard, as if the steak on her plate was going to tell her where to begin and how to devise her question; as if it were going to give her all the answers she wanted and needed.

"Spit it out already." Paul glanced at her, irritated, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sorry, I just don't know where to begin." Dawn glanced up at him, almost shyly, before returning her gaze to her food.

Paul took in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly, "Then start at the beginning."

Dawn glanced up quickly at him, before smiling to herself for a moment.

'He always knows what to say… when the situation calls for it.' Dawn noted dryly, smiling.

"All right. When Zoey first went missing, I went back to her apartment after the police had searched it, and found that invitation."

Paul nodded, "Is that what you were going to read in class?"

"Yeah!" Dawn nodded vigorously, "After I got it though, I got an invitation too. On both of those cards, it said I was supposed to 'play a game of tag'. Mine only included that Zoey's life was on the line."

Paul frowned, leaning back into his chair, not quite sure where this conversation was going.

"What I'm trying to say is… I don't understand. What game am I supposed to be playing? What if he's going to kill Zoey because I won't play along? Doesn't that mean I have to go back?" The words were spilling from her mouth faster now, and Dawn couldn't hold her troubled voice back. If was almost suffocating, not knowing so much.

Paul sighed, "Calm down, Dawn." Dawn stared at him, before nodding once and taking in a deep breath, attempting to calm down her frazzled nerves. Paul eyed her for a moment, before starting.

"…You're playing the game right now."

"I'm what?"

"… I said, you're playing the game right now."

"What do you mean?" Dawn frowned, nose scrunched and the area between her eyebrows furrowed.

"What I mean is, my going to your world, you finding Zoey's letter, you receiving a letter yourself soon after… It probably wasn't just coincidence."

Dawn gaped at Paul, eyes unbelieving.

"You mean to tell me, that I'm pretty much just playing into his hands? That we're playing into his hands? What?"

Paul shook his head, "Not completely. I doubt he expected me to show up at his house with you, but rather return here only after I felt the gate open after you received your letter."

Dawn nodded, "So your hitching a ride in that wormhole thing threw a kink in his plans, huh?"

Paul shrugged, his gaze falling on his glass, "I don't know, but he's definitely continuing with whatever he wants. I guess me being back so fast might have thrown him off a bit, but it doesn't look like he's going to stop. We have to find Zoey and get you two back to your world."

Dawn frowned, "But how does that stop the Duke?"

Paul raised his gaze to level Dawn's, "It doesn't. We kill him to get him to stop."

Dawn hadn't quite expected the words, and they left her stunned for only a moment. She nodded firmly, the words holding a sort of finality over her head. Dawn couldn't help but be slightly bothered by her firm assurance. It made sense – seeing as how it was the only way to get the man to stop, but at the same time the crude way they would most likely take him out still somewhat bothered her. But at the same time, she had accepted it easily.

'I'm changing.'

She stared at her hands again, palms facing up towards her.

'I'm starting to get used to this world.'

Dawn heard the sharp sound of metal hitting plate as Paul resumed eating.

'I don't know if I like that.'

* * *

Just as Dawn had begun to pick at her food, a man walked into the dining room calmly, before handing a folder of papers to Jin, whispering something in his ear, before walking out again – disappearing down the hall like a shadow.

Jin glanced through the papers quickly, his eyes widening slightly, before handing the papers over to Paul. Dawn frowned at the look that had sparked through his eyes. She didn't like the feeling that settled in her stomach from that look.

Paul read through the file, eyes darting back and forth as he soaked the information in quickly. He dropped the file on the table, thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Dawn could feel the thick feeling of nervous butterflies settle at the pit of her stomach.

"…What's wrong?"

Paul opened one eye to look at her, before sighing loudly. It felt like he'd been doing a lot of sighing the entire day.

"…We know where they took Zoey."

"Really?" Dawn felt relief wash over her body, before reality gripped her insides. Paul look extremely displeased.

Dawn continued, voice cautious, "… So… what's the problem?"

Paul had folded his hands together to rest his chin on them, gaze hard.

"They took her through the Rose Labyrinth."

"The Rose Labyrinth?"

"It's an area infested with large bushes of roses, encased by a forest."

Dawn nodded, still not quite understanding Paul's frustration, "So, why is it called the Rose Labyrinth?"

"They call it that because it's damn near impossible to get out of. My agents didn't even bother going in to follow them, because then we never would have found out where they went."

"… Wait, if they only stopped at the edge of the forest, how do you know where they took Zoey?"

"Because past the Rose Labyrinth there's only one location after that, before you hit the sea. And it's common knowledge that the Duke built a house past that forest."

Dawn slumped in her chair, eyes lost.

"So… what are we going to do?"

Paul wouldn't look at her, and instead stared at his empty plate. Dawn bit her lip, not sure what kind of answer she was going to get.

"… In the report, it said that Rose Red had been waiting for the group that was holding Zoey. Apparently the Duke is already at the house. If we want to eliminate him, and get Zoey back, we could do it in one shot. …However, that forest is trouble in itself."

Dawn nodded, as Paul continued to think out loud to himself.

"… They say there's a house in the middle of the forest. Even if they know how to navigate that forest, it should still take them at least a day and a half to get through…"

"Have they already left?"

"No, the report indicates they won't be leaving until tomorrow morning to leave."

"Oh." Dawn nodded at the information, watching as Paul stared into his lap.

"That's it. We're leaving for the Rose Labyrinth tomorrow morning." Paul spoke firmly, raising his gaze to Dawn's. Dawn could hear Jin begin to protest, but she never broke her gaze from Paul's.

She nodded.

"All right."

* * *

It was still dark as Dawn and Paul set off towards the direction of the Rose Labyrinth. Dawn pulled herself a little closer to Paul, as the horse raced along throughout the town, and before she knew it they had already arrived towards the sparse outskirts of the main village. Paul had noted that the Rose Labyrinth was close to the Sinnoh region, and that reaching there before dawn broke from the horizon would be easy. However, that morning his agents had noted that the group had already set off. Navigating through the forest would be the toughest part.

Dawn could see the edge of the forest appear on the horizon, and she had to blink, the feeling of the wind drying her eyes out annoying her. It looked as though it was dotted slightly with red polka dots, and Dawn tilted her head slightly in curiosity. She could feel the wind dying down as the horse began to slow her speed, as they reached the edge of the woods.

Glancing around, Dawn noted there were no groups of people lounging around, almost in a resigned manner. Dawn released her hold on Paul, before dropping to the ground. Paul pulled a map from his pack, skimming over it as he re-evaluated and confirmed the route.

"According to legend, this place is called the Rose Labyrinth because of the amount of roses that have infested the forest – and the fact that travelers who go in, usually don't ever come back. Only a few have managed to properly trek through the forest – and the Duke being one of those few. The legend goes that in if you manage to reach the mansion residing in the middle of this forest, that you will find the end without any problems at all."

Dawn turned to look at Paul, nodding at the information.

"All right, so we just find the house, right?"

Paul sighed, "It's not that easy. I don't think there will be any well-worn paths in this forest to help us through."

Dawn groaned, "Can we just burn this entire forest down? I think it'd be easy to get across then."

Paul smirked at this, shaking his head at Dawn. Dawn pouted.

"Damn. Well, it's always an idea."

Paul reread through a few instructions and leaflets that had been folded in with the papers. Dawn approached the edge of the forest, eyeing the vines of roses that had gone from the ground and rounded all up against the tree trunk. The thick thorns stuck out in every place, and Dawn grimaced at the thought of pricking her hands on one of them.

"There's another thing written here…" Paul frowned, pulling the paper closer to him. Dawn turned, before approaching Paul as he dismounted the horse. She leaned in close as he pointed out the writing at the bottom of the page.

"'Don't rest in the doll house'…?" Dawn read slowly, blinking a few times.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She looked up at Paul, who continued to stare at the paper hard, his hand gripping his chin.

"…I'm not sure. They refer to the house in the Rose Labyrinth as the 'House of Eternity' in the legends." Paul frowned, "Could it be there's another building in the forest…?"

Dawn groaned, "Great, if there's another house, then we're really fucked."

Paul rolled his eyes at Dawn's pessimism, "I don't think that there's another house. If there was, it would have had to have been in the legend somewhere…"

"I suppose you're right…" Dawn responded, skepticism lacing her voice.

"Regardless, we have to get through the forest." Paul reminded Dawn, who nodded energetically.

"You're right! We'll make it through, I'm sure."

Dawn took in a deep breath, before stepping in after Paul.

The forest was dark, only the occasional light of the morning peeking through the thick canopies of the forest. It was dim, and the path was narrow, laced with thick roots and dangerous thorns. The roses that blossomed ranged from small to extremely large sizes that Dawn couldn't quite believe actually existed. The largest that she'd seen so far had nearly been the size of her head, it's color like a darkened shade of dried blood. Dawn shivered at the gruesome comparison, before continuing behind Paul. She lead the horse by the reins, seeing as how the added height of the horse would have had Paul and Dawn getting their faces slammed with large roses and huge thorns.

"Stick close." Paul reminded Dawn, who jogged slightly to catch up to him, their horse following obediently.

Dawn glanced around again, the entire forest thick and dense. It seemed to go on forever, and Dawn could feel panic curl around her heart for a moment.

'How the hell are we supposed to get through this?' Dawn thought, despair clouding her mind.

Dawn ran straight into Paul's back, her thoughts sidetracked. Rubbing her nose, Dawn glanced up. It was a crossroad.

The path suddenly split in three directions – forward, to the right, or to the left.

Each path seemed to have the same amount of wear to it, as if each path had been taken the same exact number of times in the past. Paul stared at the paths, contemplating which to take.

"Hey, Paul… if we came in straight across from where we were supposed to exit, wouldn't taking the path forward just lead us to the house and out?" Dawn questioned, the picture of the map flashing through her mind.

Paul frowned, a cautious look on his face, "Normally, yes… but there's something different about this forest."

"What do you mean?"

Paul shook his head, "…It feels as though the forest is alive…" Paul murmured out, and Dawn felt confusion spark in her mind.

"…" Dawn turned forward again in silence, as she felt their horse pull slightly at the reins, as if she were unsettled about something.

"For now, let's go straight." Paul spoke suddenly, and Dawn nodded as they began to cross towards the path that lead them forward. Dawn suddenly felt something cold wash over her body, and she could have sworn she heard a small child giggling from somewhere. She froze, stopping right in the middle of the crossroads.

Paul heard her sharp intake of breath, before turning his head and looking at Dawn, the slightest hint of concern on his face.

"…What is it, girl?" Dawn was staring at the ground; her gaze fixed and body tense.

The feeling came quickly and passed just as fast, and before Dawn knew it, it felt like nothing had happened at all. She let out a thick breath, her body suddenly relaxing.

"I… don't know." Dawn shook her head in confusion, her hands still gripping the reins tightly, before she started moving again, moving closer to Paul than before.

* * *

"Fuck! I'm sure we've passed this tree like a million times, Paul!" Dawn cursed angrily, pointing at said tree accusingly.

"You're going mental, stupid girl. That tree looks like every single other one on the path!" Paul argued back.

"No, you're wrong! This one has that giant flower at the top, see? I'm sure we passed this tree an hour ago!"

"You're an idiot, that tree over there has a flower just like it!"

"No, it's not like this rose! You're full of shit, Paul!" Dawn let out a short, frustrated scream as she gripped her hair.

She pats their horse on the nose, trying to calm her raging nerves. The horse shuffled in its place, not quite comfortable with the atmosphere.

Paul let out a deep sigh, "Look, let's keep going. We're not doing any good just sitting here."

Dawn nodded, concern etched across her face, "It's starting to get dark, Paul…"

"…Yeah, I know."

They continued in relative silence, and Dawn could feel her body starting to get heavier. They'd been walking all day, seeing as how everywhere they went hung low roses on thick vines with large thorns that could probably rip one of their heads off if they were galloping fast enough. Her feet were sore and her muscles screamed with every slight movement.

Dawn was slouched slightly, following Paul who looked as though he were getting tired too. Dawn blinked, as she saw the soil beginning to change color. It went from a light, dry brown to a suddenly richer, moister looking dark brown of color. Paul had stopped moving in front of her. Dawn glanced up, and just past the thick bramble, Dawn could make out a large, high brick wall, complete with a large wrought iron gate.

And above that, in all its gothic glory, was a house.

The House of Eternity.

* * *

Originally, I was going to write to the part where they go to the house. Then, I decided that maybe it would be smarter to break it up where they go from the first crossroad, stop there, and post the next chapter with what happens after the crossroads, and into the house.

But then I decided that breaking it up there would have made it extremely awkward, I feel like, so I then re-decided that stopping at the area when they reach the house was a perfect stopping point.

Anyways – get ready for the next chapter, because I smell… DEATH?

Ahahahahahahaha no that's just my brain frying! /shotshotshot\

So, I want to give Dawn and Paul these very serious moments - you know, like they understand each other. Like they get each other, without realizing it. If you think this is lacking romance, well, I want them to be a little more... I don't know, realistic in this setting, I guess? You know, with the held gazes (when they decide to go to the Rose Labyrinth) and the end of their argument where they just sort of accept that they're both frustrated, you know? Like they get each other. Seriously, that's what I'm trying. I don't know if I'm succeeding, though LOL.

DON'T WORRY THOUGH THE SMEX WILL COME SOON ENOUGH YES YES YES YES COUGH COUGH IN MAYBE THE NEXT CHAPTER OR TWO COUGH.

YOU'LL SEE HOW IT GOES DOWN... I'LL MAKE IT WORK SOMEHOW XD!


	8. Chapter 7: The House of Eternity LEMON

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 7: The House of Eternity

_/ / Moi qui suis dans mon rêve / /_

_/ / T'entends ma chérie / /_

_/ / Aides-moi / /

* * *

_

_R é v e i l l e – m o i

* * *

_

**YES YOU CAN SHOOT ME GO AHEAD DO IT DO IT DO IT I AM A FAILURE. MY UPDATES ARE FAIL I KNOW JUST PUNCH ME NOW. LOL.**

So, I'm not too familiar with the French language, and I'm not sure if "Aides-Moi" is supposed to be spelled with an "S" or with a "Z"… like "Aides-Moi" or "Aidez-Moi".

If anybody is familiar with the French language, could you please tell me which way is correct? Please? Lol

And if you were wondering what that says… well... google it! LOL

Also, I'm sure you've noticed, but next to the chapter in the chapter select thing it says "Lemon" in it. I just put that there in case people wanted to just read the lemon part of this story and not the rest. LOL

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A LEMON. YES (!), IT HAS A LEMON. AS IN, THERE IS SEX. THAT MEANS, IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT LIKE THAT, DON'T COMPLAIN BECAUSE I GAVE YOU FAIR WARNING! IT'S LIKE, KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE/END OF THE CHAPTER SO… IF YOU DON'T LIKE HOT, CLOSET SMEX I SUGGEST YOU DON'T READ IT LOL.

* * *

**

_Dawn was slouched slightly, following Paul who looked as though he were getting tired too. Dawn blinked, as she saw the soil beginning to change color. It went from a light, dry brown to a suddenly richer, moister looking dark brown of color. Paul had stopped moving in front of her. Dawn glanced up, and just past the thick bramble, Dawn could make out a large, high brick wall, complete with a large wrought iron gate._

_And above that, in all its gothic glory, was a house._

_The House of Eternity.

* * *

_

The sky had darkened quickly, as the two approached the house. Dawn was tired, the days of endless traveling and the brutal hits her emotions and mental psyche had taken were taking their affect. She grasped lightly onto the edge of Paul's cape, and he glanced back at her. Dawn raised her eyes; shooting him a look that Paul could only muster pity, and reassurance at. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along quickly, the dusk was quickly approaching and soon it would be nighttime.

And Paul knew, nothing good came from staying out during the night.

Dawn stared at Paul's hand holding hers. His was bigger – but it fit well into hers. She could feel the calluses on his hands from wielding a sword – hands that killed so easily but held her hand gently. She couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and calm wash over her.

Then she turned bright red.

She was half tempted to rip her hand from Paul's, but mentally took a few moments to hyperventilate before attempting to calm down. Dawn sniffed slightly, before her mind pulled back into its pits to think.

Why was she overreacting like this? She'd held plenty of guy's hands before, even if they had just been friends. It's not as if this was anything different. Dawn reasoned with herself, nodding slightly to herself. Sure, she'd only known this guy for what, a few weeks now? Well, if she included the days they spent together in school, then yes maybe at least a month or so… but she'd only really gotten to know him during the past few days of pure torture (in her mind). Dawn blinked.

She really had gotten to know him, through small habits. The way he liked his food cooked, the way he talked, the way he spoke to his servants, the way he always knew what to say (again, when the time called for it), and the way he scrunched his nose whenever he saw carrots on his plate. Dawn hadn't gotten to know him in a traditional, talk for a few months and slowly discover a few things about him kind of way.

She'd gotten a crash course in who Paul was.

And he'd received the same with her.

Dawn paused in her thoughts, turning bright red at the thought of the bathroom scene. Yep, he'd gotten to see and know more of her than she probably liked.

Coughing slightly to herself, she noticed Paul glance back at her, an eyebrow raised. She smiled brightly back at him – or, at least, as brightly as she could muster at that point. Finding this acceptable, he turned his head forward again, as she saw the house grow a little closer to them and the sky turn a little bit darker.

Dawn was quickly pulled into her own thoughts again, the feeling of Paul's hand pulling her along the only other companion to her thoughts. It was an odd thing, being around Paul. They bickered constantly, but they were also able to resolve their problems quickly – it's like they just got each other. Dawn blinked. She stared at her hand in Paul's. She noted the slight quickening of her heart. She blinked again. Her mouth dropped, and her other hand gripped the horse's reins tightly.

Oh God.

Dawn took in a deep gulp of the night air.

She liked him.

She had to.

That would explain her strange behavior –

'OH SHIT WHAT - ' Had begun to form inside Dawn's brain until she noticed the fact that Paul had started to slow down. She looked up, pushing everything she'd "discovered" into the back of her mind. The sky had darkened considerably since the start of her thought process. The night unnerved her out here, and Dawn felt herself shiver slightly. Dawn felt Paul squeeze her hand in response to her shiver, and she pulled herself a little closer to him.

They had reached the tall gates of the house. It looked like an abandoned house – it was dark, black, and gray – large, tall cement fountains lay symmetrical in the yard, water spouting out of the tops erratically. There were somber cherubim statues outside, amongst other figures that had chipped, some of them missing limbs or heads. The entire house was set with gothic and Victorian detailing – high, pointed archways and large windows, as well as porch that completely surrounded one side of the house. Large, dark wooden double doors loomed past the wrought iron gate fence. The gates spiked at the top, before ending and starting a large wall of pure brick fencing that sat high, with large columns that held two menacing gargoyles pointing outward at them, mouths agape.

Paul pushed against the large gate – it moved easily under his hand, but a loud screech echoed off as the gates moved. Dawn flinched at the sound, gripping Paul's hand in an automatic reflex. He pushed it further, before leading Dawn in, their horse following suit. Paul moved to close the gates, when a light suddenly turned on, in the window next to the doors. Dawn froze, and Paul glanced at her, before turning around and staring at the light.

They could hear somebody attempting to open the door, from where they stood. Dawn gulped, mentally beginning to panic. She was too emotionally and physically stressed right now to have to deal with anything else coming their way. She then saw Paul shift to stand in front of her, and noticed that she'd unconsciously begun to grip his hand tightly in hers.

But instead of a sickly ill widow or some other form of creepy fairy tale creature, there stood a little girl on her tiptoes, as she hung from the doorknob, peeking her head out through the doorway. Her blonde hair hung in thickly curled ringlets with large, pastel pink bows situated in them. Her eyes shone a luminous shade of pure cyan blue and her dress was the same shade of pastel pink with thick inch straps that collected at her natural waist, before dropping in a bell of an A-line skirt. She wore a white shirt with puff white sleeves under her pink inch thick straps, and a dainty bow situated itself right in the center of her drop waistline. She wore traditional white socks and perfectly polished white shoes on her feet. She dropped her hands from the doorknob, before running out from the doors, smiling brightly and giggling cutely to herself.

"Hello there! Are you here to play?" The girl approached quickly, before abruptly stopping in front of the two, wringing her hands.

"Ah, hello there…" Dawn started, when suddenly she felt a cold sweep down her body. She swallowed thickly, and stared at the young girl. She looked perfectly innocent, in her baby pastel colors and Lolita curled hair. A precious little girl, too bright for the dreary old mansion behind her – still, Dawn felt on edge around her.

"So? Are you here to play? Huh? Huh?" The young girl spewed question after question, a twinkle of excitement clear in her eyes. She giggled again. Dawn frowned at the noise.

"We just need a place to stay tonight." Paul interjected, and the little girl pouted.

"You mean you don't want to stay forever?" She breathed, staring up with frighteningly wide eyes. Dawn started, the look on the girl's face all to knowing for her own like. She suddenly giggled again, as though she were joking.

"As long as you promise to play! Okay?" She held up her pinky finger, smiling brightly. Dawn gave a tired smile, still nervous, before hooking her own pinky onto the young girl's.

"All right… ah – what's your name, sweetie?" Dawn blinked, noting the fact that she'd yet to introduce herself.

"Oh! My name's Goldilocks! It's nice to meet you! What's your name, pretty lady?" Goldilocks smiled brightly, as she lead the two into the house. Paul pulled the reins from Dawn's hands, before tying them to a post in front of the house, close to the shed.

"I'm Dawn, and he's Paul." Dawn pointed at Paul, and Goldilocks nodded her head furiously.

"Okay! You're Dawn, and you're Paul!" She giggled as if she'd just told them a hilarious joke, before flouncing into up the porch stairs and into the house. Dawn couldn't help but be a little amazed at the condition of the house – it was largely Victorian decorated, with intricate furniture and detailing. It was extremely bright – lights everywhere were turned on. It reminded her of a toy house she'd had as a child, one that her father had made her.

"You can stay in two of the bedrooms upstairs, it doesn't matter which!" Goldilocks trilled, before frolicking over to the staircase. There were pictures hanging everywhere – photos of little Goldilocks and many other nameless strangers. Dawn frowned at the amount of people – every single photo had a backdrop of the house, but if Dawn remembered correctly the forest was a maze, wasn't it? If one found the house, then they wouldn't have any trouble getting out, right? Then how could there have been so many people to find the house, but not get out? Dawn shook her head, already knowing where her thoughts were leading her.

"It's getting late, why don't you go to bed, honey?" Dawn pushed, but Goldilocks shook her head indignantly.

"You promised to play! You promised!" She whined, pouting and throwing her arms across her chest angrily.

"All right, all right… why don't we play and then you go to sleep, hm?" Dawn responded, and Goldilocks brightened up immediately.

"Okay! We can play with my dolls!"

* * *

Dawn groaned as she sank deeper into the bathtub. Her bathroom connected to the room that Paul had chosen. It was convenient – in case anything happened. Dawn frowned at the thought, sinking further into the bathtub. She was sure Paul was asleep by now; she'd played with Goldilocks for hours before she'd finally pacified the girl to go to sleep.

Sighing to herself, Dawn sunk underneath the waterline, before rising again, breathing in deeply. The hot water had helped her body relax, and loosened her muscles. Dawn finished scrubbing her hair and body before pulling the plug in the tub, and wrapping herself in a towel. The bath had done her good, and now she was feeling refreshed and much cleaner.

Her hair stuck to her neck, the water turning it an even darker shade of cobalt. She blinked, when she heard the door to Paul's room open quickly. She stared at Paul, who quickly shut the door behind him. He marched over to her, and pushed her into the linen closet. Dawn gaped and began to protest, but he quickly shoved his hand over her mouth and quietly closed the door behind them. That's when Dawn heard her voice.

Goldilocks.

Her childish voice called out for Paul, whining, "Paul, where are you? You haven't played with me yet! I want to play house! Where are you? Paul!" Goldilocks' voice began to rise in pitch, before she hysterically screeched Paul's name. Dawn could hear her as she shuffled into the bathroom, moving around aimlessly before she heard one final 'hmph' and the light shut off in the bathroom. She heard two doors close. They stood like that for a few moments, stiff and nervous at whether or not Goldilocks was still in the room, before Paul finally pulled his hand from over her mouth, sighing, irritated. Dawn let out the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"What was that all about?" Dawn whispered, and Paul shook his head.

"She just started knocking on my door, demanding I play house with her. She's an annoying brat." Paul grumbled angrily, running a hand through his hair.

Dawn nodded, sighing in acceptance. She stared into the darkness for a moment.

"…She gives me the creeps, Paul." Dawn admitted, voice quiet, "…I don't want to stay here tonight." Dawn voice her own feelings tentatively, as if she were expecting Paul to react to this negatively. She heard Paul shift on his feet for a moment, and she could practically feel his eyes on her. It was about this time she realized the predicament she was in.

Her.

Paul.

Her naked.

In a linen closet.

Alone.

Paul, who could easily get naked –

Dawn shook her head wildly at the thought, her face turning bright red at this. She couldn't help but take a deep breath in, suddenly realizing their proximity. The closet was small, and Dawn's back was pressed against the back of the closet, while Paul was pressed close to her, even though he's attempted to shift further back so not to hit her.

Her breath hitched.

She heard Paul swallow thickly. Dawn felt her face heat up – and her entire body as well.

"…We should get out of here – " She heard Paul start, as he attempted to move further back and find the doorknob. Dawn's hands moved on their own, and she grabbed his shirt. One hand held her towel tightly, while the other gripped the front of his shirt tightly.

Dawn stared at where her hands probably would have been, if she could see, completely mortified.

'WHAT AM I DOING!' She shrieked mentally to herself, her breathing shallow. Paul's hands gripped Dawn's wrist.

"Dawn…" His voice held this warning tone – not as though he were going to scold her, or get angry, but rather this raspy, bit back groan that was threatening to turn from a tone of warning to a straight growl. It was as if he was restraining himself, and she could hear it in his voice. Dawn gulped, and she tugged at Paul's shirt, and he tripped forward, their bodies now flush against each other.

Dawn jumped slightly, her nerves on overdrive. Every part of her body was sensitive now, and she could feel Paul breathing heavily now. Dawn glanced up, her eyes now adjusting to the darkness. Her face was close to Paul's – she could feel his breath on her face. He was staring at her, eyes wide, filled with too many emotions that Dawn didn't really quite feel like sorting out.

Then she kissed him.

She felt a surge of confidence – boldness suddenly springing from her body and she leaned up and on her toes to press her lips against his. She felt him respond immediately – he pushed her further back, tongue sliding across her bottom lip. She opened her mouth in response, willing. She dropped her hands from his shirt and her towel, the garment now wrapped loosely atop her breasts. Dawn wrapped her arms around his neck, as she felt years of pent up frustration and hormones suddenly burst from behind closed doors and come full throttle in her mind and her body. She felt him groan into her mouth as she pressed herself closer to him.

They pulled away for air, and she stared at Paul, who stared back, unabashed.

"Shit – " He breathed, before kissing her hard, her gasp leaving her mouth open for his tongue. At first, she meekly responded to his kiss but in a few minutes she was kissing back just as forcefully as he was to her. One hand was positioned next to Dawn's head, while Paul's other hand pulled against the towel that had been poorly wrapped around Dawn's body. It fell easily, and Dawn could hear the cloth slip quietly to the ground. Paul lightly moved his hand over Dawn's breasts, and Dawn felt her breath hitch at the feel of the feather-light touches. His other hand wandered down, gripping her breasts in his hands as his thumbs pushed her nipples upwards, before pinching them as his mouth moved from her mouth onto her neck, leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses in its wake. Dawn breathed heavily at this, eyes slipping closed. She whimpered before gasping as she felt his mouth latch onto one nipple, his tongue sliding around it leisurely, before flicking upwards against it. Dawn's hands were shaking, gripping the back of Paul's shirt insistently.

"Nn – " She managed out, until she gasped loudly once again, as his mouth moved to her other nipple, his tongue moving leisurely over her nipple. His right hand slipped from kneading her breast down her stomach, before ending up right in between her legs. Paul left her breast in opt for Dawn's mouth once again, masking Dawn's whimpers and cries as she felt Paul's fingers circle around her opening, before sliding back forward slightly and pushing against the sensitive bundle of nerves situated between her legs. She moaned into his mouth, wrapping her arms tighter against his neck as she attempted to pull him as close as she possibly could to her. Dawn felt liquid fire fly through her veins as Paul continued to touch her. Her body was hot – so hot –

Dawn panted heavily as she felt Paul's finger slide into her, her body initially rejecting the feeling of something foreign inside of her. Her body instinctively clamped down on him, as if it were trying to push him out. Paul groaned into Dawn's neck, nipping lightly at the skin underneath her ear lobe. She squeaked at the sensitive spot, her hands lightly pulling Paul's hair as his finger began to move.

Her legs attempted to close shut, her knees attempting to touch, the feeling of his finger driving her body into a frenzy. It began to move faster than before, and Dawn could feel a spring winding up in the pit of her stomach. It got tighter the move his finger moved inside of her, and she felt her body start to close in on itself before suddenly, everything erupted inside of her and Dawn slammed her eyes shut tight, her loud moan masked by Paul's mouth on hers. It was like a million sparks tingling in the pit of her stomach before expanding outwards, reaching the tip of her toes and fingers to the top of her head. She felt Paul pull his finger out, her body shivering at the loss of contact, before his hands left her body and she could hear the rustle of clothes in her after orgasm euphoria –

He pushed her legs up and she wrapped them around his waist instinctively. Dawn could feel him pressed up against her, and suddenly her body was starting to get hot again –

Dawn opened her eyes, and saw Paul staring at her intently, as if he were waiting for her. She let out a shaky breath, pulling him in for a kiss. Dawn wheezed as she felt Paul push into her fully in one stroke. She felt Paul groan into her mouth, and she felt her legs tighten around his waist. The pain faded quickly and Dawn rolled her hips, as if she were testing the waters, and felt the fire inside of her ignite again as rolls of pure pleasure flooded every pore of her body. Paul growled slightly against her lips, before nipping at her neck, his hands placed at either side of her head. Dawn's body pressed against the wall as he began to move.

Dawn whimpered every time she felt him slide against the bundle of nerves as Paul's body moved against hers. She felt him smirk slightly against her neck, as she gripped Paul's shirt in her palms tighter. Her eyes were shut tightly now, her hips moving on their own against Paul's as she sought to reach a greater high. The familiar feel of a coil wrapping and pushing down in the bottom of her stomach appeared once again, and she could feel her body beginning to clamp down on Paul's. He groaned against her neck, the noise slightly muffled.

His hips were moving faster now; each thrust pulling Dawn closer and closer over the edge. At first they moved in a steadily increasing pace, but now his thrusts were sporadic, and Dawn could tell by the way he was moving Paul was close as well. She couldn't believe the noises spilling from her mouth as his movements increased even further.

Dawn moaned, liquid fire rushing through her veins as her hips gyrated against Paul's desperately, and she felt Paul thrust faster into her and she could feel it now the feeling of that coil as it struggled to come loose in the pit of her stomach before suddenly her body tensed, her entire body clamping down on Paul's and she felt him freeze for only a moment, his member swelling before she felt him, warm and thick inside her body. His hips moved forward in small, sporadic spurts as his seed filled her before he finally stopped, his breathing heavy against her neck. Dawn leaned her head back, panting. The sound of their breathing filled the air; the only noise in the night.

* * *

So, this lemon was purposely extremely erm… not explicit. As in, the next lemon I have planned will probably be way more explicit than this… heh. Gotta start out kinda slow, huh? Get you guys prepared for what's coming next…

LOL SO YEAH WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK

I'm not so good at writing lemons, and this is my first so… I feel it's a little awkward. I mean, it's kind of supposed to be rushed and awkward feeling 'cause… it's Dawn's first… and… yeah. LOL.

Anyways, tell me what you think! I already have almost all of Chapter 8 done, so expect another update soon.


	9. Chapter 8: Goldilocks

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 8: Goldilocks

* * *

_/ / like some child possessed / /_

_/ / the beast howls in my veins / /_

_/ / I want to find you / /_

* * *

_t e a r out all of your t e n d e r n e s s_

* * *

GOLDILOCKS IS PRETTY CUTE, HUH? AHAHAHAHHAHAHA /shot\

And now for my little talk about the lemon… I'm very glad you all reacted positively to it! I also realize that lemons aren't for everyone, ha ha so I'm glad I put it at the end! It can pretty much be ignored, just as long as you know they slept together lolol! Anyways, glad you guys liked the last chapter!

I thought I'd apologize now for this poorly written chapter… I still don't know what the hell happened during this chapter, but I was way too lazy to go back and re-read this and fix my mistakes. I mean honestly, this, this chapter, good GOD, this shit, I don't even know –

RIGHT SO ANYWAYS DO YAH GUYS LIKE GOLDILOCKS, YAH YAH YAH?

**splitheart1120:** Lol what do you mean by, "Goldilocks? Out of all the fairy tale people…" Don't you like Goldilocks? She's so cute! Little children make everything better (read: CREEPIER), don't you think? Wait 'til you see her in this chapter… hahahaha xD

**By the way… did anybody notice three characters missing in the last chapter? Lol**

**Weeks later: I TRIED TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER LIKE, THE DAY AFTER I PUT UP CHAPTER 7 BUT NOOOOOO I KEPT GETTING THIS STUPID ERROR SCREEN FROM FF. EVERY TIME. EVEN IF I WAITED LIKE A DAY OR TWO IT WOULD KEEP GIVING ME THAT ERROR. But it's okay, it's working now...Lol  
**

* * *

_Dawn moaned, liquid fire rushing through her veins as her hips gyrated against Paul's desperately, and she felt Paul thrust faster into her and she could feel it now the feeling of that coil as it struggled to come loose in the pit of her stomach before suddenly her body tensed, her entire body clamping down on Paul's and she felt him freeze for only a moment, his member swelling before she felt him, warm and thick inside her body. His hips moved forward in small, sporadic spurts as his seed filled her before he finally stopped, his breathing heavy against her neck. Dawn leaned her head back, panting. The sound of their breathing filled the air; the only noise in the night._

* * *

Dawn was hiding under her covers.

After everything that had happened, she'd somewhat awkwardly walked (limped?) back to her room, face bright red in the dark. She'd dressed herself slowly, mechanically, before plopping straight into her bed and curling up into a ball and hiding. She was so embarrassed. But the first question on her mind was:

'Did that really just happen?'

She shifted slightly and felt the sting between her legs.

Yeah, that definitely just happened.

Dawn took a deep breath, not quite sure what was going on with her. She'd been the one to proposition Paul; even though she hadn't quite done it with words she'd still been the one to initiate. Dawn squealed as she pulled the covers over her head harder. She didn't quite know what she felt – awkward? Happy? Confused?

Confused was probably the right word for this. Sure, Dawn was happy. She frowned slightly though, curious and slightly confused at what had just gone down. Not so much with _what_ had happened but what it meant, now that it had happened. Dawn shifted onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Shaking her head, she noted that sleeping with Paul had just opened a floodgate of questions that she had no answers to.

'Great, just what I need. More questions without answers.'

With everything going on already, Dawn wasn't quite sure she was ready to deal with a relationship with a boy on top of trying to find her best friend, not die, and, well… not die.

Dawn turned once again to lay on her side, before letting out a startled scream and flying backwards on the bed a few feet, nearly falling over on the other edge of the bed. She held her heart desperately, staring at the edge of her bed.

It was Goldilocks.

She was just standing there, staring at Dawn with blank eyes. Then she smiled brightly.

"Dawn! I want to play!"

It was at that moment that Paul threw open the doors, looking around the room, before his eyes landed on Dawn and Goldilocks. He sighed loudly, pushing his fingers through his hair.

"Oops! Did we wake you up, Paul?"

Goldilocks giggled brightly, not at all apologetic.

"No, you didn't." Paul muttered, glaring at the girl. Dawn coughed, face a pleasant shade of pink.

"Well since you're here Paul, let's all go play!" Goldilocks squealed, grabbing at Dawn's hand as she scrambled onto the bed, pulling Dawn and using her knees as leverage. Dawn frowned at this, and Paul shook his head before turning around.

"Hey! Paul, you can't leave! You have to come play!" Goldilocks whined, her voice tinged with anger. Paul turned around, shaking his head before following Dawn and Goldilocks out.

"What are we going to play, Goldilocks?" Dawn asked, her voice tired. Her entire body ached (she didn't really want to think about that because all that did was make her blush wildly) and she was mentally exhausted.

"Let's play house!" Goldilocks giggled happily, skipping down the hallway towards an area Dawn hadn't noticed before. It seemed a little darker in this area than the rest of the house, as if it were gloomier than the rest. On the walls hung more pictures, all of them hanging off kilter, of Goldilocks and various other people. Dawn glanced at a few of the pictures she passed, and blinked when she saw one with Goldilocks and three bears. Frowning, her mind began to process what she had missed at the very beginning. From the moment she'd met Goldilocks and entered the house, something had been missing.

The house had been empty.

Here, Goldilocks was all alone.

But where were her three bears?

* * *

"Paul," Dawn hissed, leaning close to Paul. Goldilocks skipped merrily in far in front of them, not paying the two any attention. Paul turned to look at Dawn wearily.

"There are no bears in this house." Dawn muttered quietly, watching Goldilocks to make sure she hadn't heard.

Paul frowned, before murmuring back, "Don't let your guard down."

"Here we are!" Goldilocks threw her arms up extravagantly, turning in her jump to stare at them, before pointing at the double doors in front of them.

"This is my special playroom! You guys should feel really, really lucky I'm letting you play with me here!" Goldilocks laughed at this, before turning with a flick and throwing the doors open. Immediately Dawn smelled something foul. She threw her hands over her mouth and nose, flinching at the repulsive smell. She saw Paul grimace for a moment, before furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

What was giving off that smell?

Goldilocks skipped in, but stopped when she noticed that she wasn't being followed in. She turned around, staring at the two. Her eyes were wide and confused. She frowned before turning to face them, and Dawn shook her head at this.

"Goldilocks, it stinks in here. Maybe we should play somewhere else…?" Dawn and Paul moved to turn and leave, when Goldilocks started screaming.

Dawn threw her hands from her mouth to her ears, wincing at the high pitch of Goldilocks' voice.

"You can't! I'm letting you guys play in here, so you have to play!" She shrieked, fists clenched at her side and her breathing heavy. Her bright blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the room, before Dawn turned to stare at her fully. The two stood up straight, before glancing at each other.

They all stared at each other for a minute, only the sound of Goldilocks' heavy breathing evident in the air. Suddenly her breathing calmed and Goldilocks gave them a bright, eerie smile. It looked perfectly happy. The air felt menacing, though. Her smile dropped. She stared at them now with a straight face, eyes wide and glassy.

Her eyes shone in the dark, like two perfectly round glass orbs. They were completely blank.

"Are you going to leave Goldilocks too…?" She breathed out; her arms were limp at her side.

"W-what do you mean?" Dawn managed to choke out, the smell now becoming unbearable.

"They tried to leave Goldilocks too." Goldilocks continued, unfazed by Dawn's question.

"Who did?" Dawn could feel fear creeping in the pit of her stomach.

"The three bears, don't you know?" She tilted her head to the side, before turning around and skipping into her room, humming a quiet tune. Dawn and Paul followed her in cautiously, and Dawn glanced at Paul, praying to god that he had some sort of weapon on him in case they needed it. Dawn had a feeling they probably would.

Goldilocks stopped abruptly, before turning around again, smiling brightly, eyes still as wide and glassy as they were before.

The smell was unbearable now. It smelled like the metallic tang of blood, and rotting flesh, as if they'd sat in a stale room for years upon years, simply decomposing and decaying. It was then that the moon began to filter into the room, and Dawn gasped, hands flying once again to her mouth, at the bloodstains covering the floor. They were a dark color of red, as if they'd been caked on and soaked straight into the floorboards for years now. Paintings and pictures hung in perfect, straight accordance on the walls, large patches of dark blood pasted all over them. It was as if they'd been knocked down at one point, and then replaced on the wall once more, their blood still stained on them. It was like a grotesque parody of a picture perfect home. Dawn turned, and she could see now what was causing the room to smell so badly.

Organs were scattered on the floor, dried and shriveling, mostly decaying though. Some were split open, as if they'd been pulled in a rage and simply peeled apart in the process, before being flung to the floor. She could see a various array of bones everywhere – ribs, spines, femurs and skulls lay on the floor. Then she saw it – the three bears.

They sat, slumped over in the corner, blood staining their fur. It colored the bears dark red and brown, and they sat all dressed up in traditional clothes. Goldilocks skipped over to them.

"They're not done yet, you know! I still have to finish stuffing them!" Goldilocks hugged the smallest bear, smiling brightly at them.

"What did you do to them…?" Dawn managed to choke out, and she could feel bile rising slowly in her throat. Goldilocks looked down for a moment, before staring back at Dawn, her entire face completely blank and devoid of emotion.

"I told you, didn't I? They tried to leave me, you know. I couldn't let that happen. Now they can't leave me! They're my dolls, and this is my doll house." Goldilocks gave them a gruesome, disgusting smile, and the only thing that came to Dawn's mind was that this girl was sick, and crazy.

"Oh! I have other dolls too, you know!" Goldilocks smiled, her eyes brightening at her own statement. She opened several other doors that led to closets and adjoining rooms, all of which had been filled with people. It looked as though their flesh had started rotting away however, and the white cotton stuffing Goldilocks had filled them with was pushing through those holes of decomposing flesh. They sat around tables, on couches, dressed in pretty dresses and pleasant suits. Their faces were blank, and large black gaping holes into their skulls had stuffing overflowing out of them, all of their eyes missing. Their mouths were opened wide, as though they'd all died laughing – or screaming.

"See? It's lots of fun here! Don't you want to stay here with me, forever?" Goldilocks hopped up towards Dawn, coming in a little too close for comfort. Dawn stepped back instinctively, and the happy look on Goldilocks' face immediately disappeared. She stared at Dawn with a frightening look in her eye, her mouth held in a straight, grim line.

"…You know, bear fur makes stitching very hard. I've had a horrible time trying to make my bear friends into dolls." Goldilocks was staring at the floor now, her voice quiet. It rang clearly though, in the room, the only sound in the dark of the night.

"But human flesh, it's a lot easier to sew. But their bodies always decompose so much faster. The only problem with humans is, they're so much harder to come by." Goldilocks drawled on, her voice somewhat bored.

"And whenever they do come by, they never want to stay. They always want to leave me. You aren't going to leave me too, are you, pretty lady?" Goldilocks' voice turned to pure honey as she looked up, an innocent look on her face as she stared at Dawn, who simply looked back in horror.

Goldilocks suddenly jumped however, when a knife hit the floorboards with a muffled _thunk_. She snarled at Paul, who simply threw another small knife at her. Dawn ran over towards Paul, thankful the boy had sharp objects with him.

"And you, you wouldn't play with me at all the entire time you were here! You aren't allowed to become one of my dolls!" Goldilocks shrieked hysterically, before lunging at the knife stuck in the floor. She gripped it with her small hand before throwing herself in Paul and Dawn's direction, intent on cutting them apart.

"I don't want to be one, anyway!" Paul responded easily, jumping backwards as Dawn dodged to her left. He threw another knife mid-air. Goldilocks dodged easily however, and grabbed at that knife too. Paul cursed at this, and Dawn looked around the room desperately for something to fight with.

The entire room was filled with stuffed animals, or things too heavy for her to be able to pick up and throw. She ran into another room, one with a table and teacakes that had started to mold on their platter. She looked around desperately for something – anything at all that could be used as a weapon –

Paul tripped over a loose, jutting floorboard and fell onto his back, and Goldilocks smirked at this. She turned up straight, stalking over towards Paul at a leisurely pace. Paul scrambled to get up, only to crash straight into a corner. He was trapped. He stared at Goldilocks warily, who walked over towards him slowly, easily, with a sick smile on her face.

"Do you know the legend of The Three Bears?" Goldilocks stopped, flicking a knife and twirling it in the air, before it fell and she caught the handle in her hand easily. Paul raised an eyebrow at this question, frowning.

"Yeah, a stupid little brat broke into three bears' house and messed with all there shit." Paul retorted, and Goldilocks frowned, anger brewing in her eyes.

"That's probably how's it's told to most people. Don't you know, though? There originally wasn't a little girl in the story at all." Goldilocks laughed, and suddenly her left arm shot forward, a sickening crack as her long arm's bones fell into place. Her other arm did this as well, and then her neck flew higher, while the flesh on her face began to bubble. Her body fell onto the ground as her legs twisted in the air, before finally flying out to elongate. They cracked into place, and the little dress she wore before was beginning to rip as her torso began to elongate as well. Soon she was bare in nothing but scraps of clothing, her body splayed awkwardly and grotesquely on the floor. She stood up, cracking her neck. Her skin hung on her bones, wrinkled with age. Her face was filled with wrinkles, and when she smiled, her teeth looked as though they'd rotted out inside of her mouth. Her blonde hair hung in wisps around her face, and she began to throw the knife up into the air once again, catching the handle easily. Her arms and legs seemed too long for her body, and she crouched slightly, her face moving closer to stare at Paul's.

"Ah, don't you know? The original story had an old lady in it," She laughed at this, her voice raspy and harsh on the ears, "But I guess people like little girls more, don't you think?" She laughed at this as well, amused.

"Well it certainly beats looking at you." Paul smirked at this, before dashing to his right in an attempt to escape the corner he'd been trapped into. Goldilocks frowned before throwing a knife. Paul hissed as the sharp blade pierced his calf, before stumbling and falling onto the ground. Gritting his teeth, he backed up against the wall, noting that he hadn't managed to get far from the corner he'd originally been entrapped in.

"Stupid boy, I'll kill you – !" With a crazy shriek, she lunged forward, blade pointing straight towards Paul, her long arms and legs awkward and tangling in themselves as she ran towards Paul. Her mouth was open in a shriek, and Paul grit his teeth as he threw the last of his knives at her. One lodged in her shoulder, the other scraping the side of her thigh, while all the others Goldilocks had managed to deflect easily.

She was close now, and the metal glint of the blade in the moonlight momentarily blinded Paul for a moment when suddenly, Goldilocks' body fell forward into his lap, movements now still. He could feel the blood pooling at the base of his feet, and he stared at the gaping hole in her back. He turned his head up, only to find himself staring at Dawn, breathing heavily, a large, sharp white object in her hands, stained at the tip to middle with bright, red blood.

It was a bone.

* * *

"It isn't that deep of a wound." Paul repeated for the fifth time that night, but Dawn shook her head wildly at this. She wiped the wound with warm water, before putting a cloth over it and began to bandage it. Paul stared at her for a moment, watching her as she carefully wrapped his wound. Her face displayed pure concentration, only broken every once in a while by a look of worry and impatience.

"There, it's done." Dawn nodded, satisfied with her handiwork. She turned to stare at the bowl of warm water, rinsing her hands in the basin. She could barely look at Paul's face. In fact, she hadn't looked at him straight in the eyes since they'd looked at each other after she'd killed Goldilocks with the bone – a rib bone, from Papa bear, she figured. It was only after the original shock and exhaustion of killing someone that Dawn's mind had switched into overdrive, and now that they'd managed to survive their latest ordeal, Dawn's mind was now focused on two things, those things being that she'd:

A: Slept with Paul. (She could feel her own stubborn awkwardness arising inside her stomach once again.)

And

B: She'd killed another person.

Swallowing, Dawn pulled her knees up as she sighed. She wasn't as shaken up this time about the blood on her hands, as she had been with the first. She stared at the water, her reflection showing tired eyes and a face that seemed to have aged since she'd arrived. The water was tinged a light pink now, and Dawn held her hands up, only to find them shaking very slightly.

Paul watched Dawn's movements carefully; her original awkward and tense air came and went quickly as her expressions settled down to one of confused acceptance. He watched her hands shaking, small and delicate. He wasn't quite sure what to do – he'd never had to comfort anybody about killing somebody before. It was common here. One death meant nothing in the long run; everybody was just one small spec of an existence in his world.

A flash of his brother's face appeared in his mind, and the way he used to praise and calm him when he did something well, or when something happened that frightened him as a child.

Dawn blinked, a feather-light touch ghosting over her head, and she turned to stare at Paul, who refused to look at her. He was staring at the ground, now finding it intensely interesting. His hand sat on Dawn's head, and he gave her head a little ruffle. Dawn couldn't help but give a small smile at the blush he was clearly trying to keep down.

They sat there for a moment, like that. Paul was the first to break the silence.

"Thanks, you know." Dawn blinked, confused.

"For what?"

"For saving me, you stupid girl." Paul bit out, turning to stare at Dawn incredulously, as if she were an idiot for not knowing why he was thanking her. Dawn paused, before smiling at him.

"Yeah, no problem."

* * *

YES, THEY BE AWKWARD. But there's nothing like one fight scene and one fairy tale death later that helps people connect and get closer, huh? ('cause they're too tired and bloodied and mentally scarred to care ahahahahaha /shot\)

LOL.

And about the original story with Goldilocks and The Three Bears, it's true. The original story did not contain a girl named Goldilocks at all, but rather an old woman who, after being found out by the bears, jumped out the window only to "never be seen again."

And isn't Dawn clever? Using a rib bone to kill somebody… so clever, so clever! …Okay, yeah, never mind. LOL.

SO ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER? I T-THINK I'LL HAVE AN A-ALICE IN WONDERLAND REFERENCE…?

(I'm sorry, but I love Alice in Wonderland. I figured I have to have one more allusion to a fairy tale before I decide to kill off the Duke, right? RIGHT!) (That is to say, IF the Duke dies...)

(Oh, and now you all know why the house is also called, 'The Doll House')


	10. Chapter 9: Paint The Roses Red

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 9: Paint The Roses Red

_/ / we're painting the roses red / /_

_/ / and many a tear we shed / /_

_/ / because we know they'll cease to grow / /_

* * *

_in fact, they'll soon be d e a d_

* * *

Hey, if you're going to reference anything fairy tale wise, you gotta do Alice in Wonderland at least somewhere in the story, right?

Ah, how I do love this story. Anyways, I was kind of curious about what I should do with Alice, but then again, I think I used her pretty well…. What do you think?

I seriously had to get myself in the mood to write this lol I had all the ideas planned out, but I had to put on some creepily playful music from Kanon Wakeshima, the Gothika CD, and music from the Zettai Meikyuu Grimm game OST LOL. Not to mention plenty of Alice in Wonderland, like I had the "painting the roses red" playing on youtube lol I even changed my background picture to this creepy screen cap I took of a video called Visual Requiem, and it's like this grayed out background with black sunflowers. Yeah. I try. LOL. I also suspect that there aren't many chapters remaining in this story….

Anyways, let's paint the roses red….

* * *

"_Thanks, you know." Dawn blinked, confused._

"_For what?"_

"_For saving me, you stupid girl." Paul bit out, turning to stare at Dawn incredulously, as if she were an idiot for not knowing why he was thanking her. Dawn paused, before smiling at him._

"_Yeah, no problem."_

* * *

Dawn was tired, to say the least. Exhausted, mentally and physically. Paul pulled himself onto the horse, before pulling Dawn up behind him. She leaned against him, shoving her face into his back before exhaling. Her arms wrapped around him loosely. They'd spent most of the night preparing to leave the mansion, cleaning up wounds and gathering a few things. Dawn had wanted to give a proper burial to all the stuffed "dolls" in the house, but Paul had shaken his head at the idea, telling Dawn that it would take too long and they didn't have the time. Dawn hadn't protested, but instead agreed quietly. She noticed the somewhat curious and surprised look in Paul's eyes when she'd given up without a fight, but Dawn could practically care less at this point.

She knew she was changing. And at this point, she didn't know whether or not she was afraid of how this world was changing her. She half wanted to cling to her humanity, but the other more logical half of her told her that she'd have to get used to this indifference somewhat if she wanted to survive. Dawn remembered Paul's words.

_And if you want to survive, you'd better start getting used to it too. _

She shook her head slightly at the though, as the horse rushed off and out of the forest. The rumors had been right – past the house lay a near perfect trail straight out of the forest. This time the trees were taller and the roses had shrunken to small bushes that simply lay next to the tress, low to the ground. Past the mansion, it seemed as though the forest had suddenly become safe and easy to travel through. The two were silent for a while, only the sound of the wind rushing past their ears.

"…I don't think people will have trouble getting through the Rose Labyrinth anymore."

Dawn glanced up to stare at the back of Paul's head. His voice had been so quiet that she'd nearly missed what he'd said.

"What do you mean?"

"…Do you remember what I said about the forest?"

Dawn paused for a moment, thinking back.

"Oh, yeah, that you felt as though it was alive? What about it?"

"Goldilocks was the one controlling the forest."

Dawn blinked, "What do you mean?"

"The forest felt alive because Goldilocks was the one controlling it."

"But, why would so many people get lost in that, if all she wanted was for people to stay with her?"

"I don't think you can actually get lost in the forest. I think the forest trails all lead to the house. Everybody that's ever disappeared was in the house."

Dawn allowed the words to sink in. She looked down at the rush of green at the bottom of her feet as the horse galloped towards the end of the forest. She could see the peeking of the sun hitting the ground filtering between the canopies of the trees.

"…Yeah, I think you're right." Dawn murmured quietly, and she felt Paul's muscles move from his nod, beneath her cheek.

"…Now that she's dead, I wonder what will happen to the forest." Dawn questioned, and she felt Paul shrug.

"Who knows. Maybe we really should just burn it down."

Dawn laughed lightly at this, recalling her comment earlier about burning the forest down to get through. She knew that this was his way of trying to make her feel better. She smiled at this, pressing her cheek against Paul's back. She could feel how relaxed he was beneath her, and it occurred to her how strange it was that Paul had just made a joke.

She couldn't help but laugh at this, too.

* * *

Dawn winced at the bright sun shining in her eyes. She pulled her hand up as if to shield herself, until her eyes adjusted properly. She looked all around her, to her left and right, surveying the area. The forest stretched for miles to both sides of her, and just ahead of her was a large red, black and white whimsical castle. In front of it was a large gate made of bushes and covered in roses, and past it Dawn could tell there was a large hedge maze before finally, the castle with it's enormous size, amassing the entire cliff. Dawn gulped, suddenly nervous for some reason. She felt butterflies in her stomach, knowing that Zoey might be here in the castle.

Taking in a deep breath, she hopped down from the horse. Paul followed suit, before allowing the horse to wander off. Dawn looked at him strangely, and Paul shrugged.

"He'll come if I call."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

Paul smirked at Dawn, "Just trust me on it."

Dawn eyed him warily for good measure, before nodding towards him. Whether she would admit it or not, she had grown to trust Paul quite a bit during their time together. Dawn quickly cut her thoughts off right there, not wanting to think of other things beyond that.

They started towards the large arch of bush and rose, Dawn's footsteps a little more hesitant than Paul's. Paul walked straight through the arch without notice, but something made Dawn pause. She looked around, sniffing the air. Paul turned around to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know… it smells funny. Don't you smell that?"

Paul quirked an eyebrow, but nonetheless tilted his head slightly into the air as well. He furrowed his brows, but remained still for a minute or so. Then he turned again to look at Dawn, nodding his head.

"I can smell something, but I can't quite place it." Dawn continued, spurred on by Paul's nod. "I can't tell. It's like fragrant, and really repugnant too." Dawn scrunched her nose up, dissatisfied.

Paul shrugged, "Well, it doesn't really apply to us. Let's just head to the castle, okay?"

Dawn wanted to argue with him, and find out the source of the smell, but she knew they had no time. Not when her friend was so close.

Dawn instead, followed Paul's lead, sticking close to the boy. She looked all around them at the tall hedgerows around her. They passed a few openings in the hedgerows that led to small, square-like rooms with bushes of roses on them. Dawn furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of the rose bushes. They looked as though the red color of their petals was melting off of them. Dawn rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. The exhaustion must be getting to her.

They twisted and turned a few more times, and Dawn noticed that the castle was slowly, but surely, starting to get closer to them. It was then that she heard singing coming from somewhere. It was faint, but it sounded like a girl's voice to her. Dawn tugged on Paul's sleeve, and he stopped. She didn't say a word, and Paul simply tilted his head slightly upward, listening, a serious look on his face. Dawn made a motion, towards the sound of the voice. Paul shook his head no. Dawn frowned, but complied, and they left the sound of singing behind.

They had been walking for another few minutes when Dawn noticed the singing was getting louder. But this time the noise had gone from coming from behind them to coming at them. Paul stopped, and Dawn knew he had noticed the change as well.

Then, turning the corner at full speed was a white hare. It wore no fancy clothes, had no golden pocket watch, nor did he have spectacles hanging from his nose. It was a plain; medium sized white rabbit, darting towards them. But turning the corner close after it was a young girl wearing a blue dress and white apron, smiling brightly. She lunged, and grabbed the rabbit by the leg. It struggled frantically, and Dawn feared it would kick so hard that it would break it's back.

"I've caught you, Mister Rabbit!" The girl laughed, a slight accent on her voice. Dawn quickly realized who the girl was. She had pretty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. In her hair she adorned a black ribbon that tied into a bow atop her head. Her dress was colored a sky blue, a white apron covering it, and she had white stockings and black polished shoes. Dawn had recognized her almost immediately.

This was Alice. Dawn's mother had frequently told her the story of the girl who fell down the rabbit hole, however Dawn hadn't quite realized she'd be meeting the main girl any time soon. Dawn saw Paul's shoulders tense, and she had to remind herself, that this wasn't Wonderland, and this Alice was most likely not one she wanted to deal with.

"Oh, I finally caught you, Mister Rabbit! I'm so glad, now we can play together!" The little white rabbit spoke no words, but instead only squeaked as she pulled him close and hugged him tightly. He struggled in her arms, kicking and squealing like a hog that had been tied.

Alice had yet to notice Paul or Dawn, too wrapped up in playing with her newly caught pet.

"We'll have so much fun, Mister Rabbit! Just like we used to have…" Alice trailed off, eyes going blank for a moment. As quickly as it had come though, she came back to herself and began to spout nonsense once again.

"Ah, what was I talking about again? Well, it doesn't matter!"

She looked up, and jumped slightly in her spot.

"Oh, my! Who might you two be?" Alice inquired, hugging the white rabbit tighter to her chest. It struggled harder, squeaking loudly. Dawn winced at the sound, and at Alice's blatant disregard to the high pitched noise.

"U-um…" Dawn started, but she saw Paul's shoulders tense further, and quickly shut her mouth. She momentarily wondered when she'd gotten so good at reading his body language and reactions.

"We're here to see the Duke." Paul responded for the two of them, voice strict and all business. Alice blinked innocently, before nodding enthusiastically.

"Well, you'll never get there unless you know the way to the castle! I'll lead you!" Alice responded, turning promptly on her heel. Dawn glanced at Paul, questioning the safety of following the girl. Paul simply shrugged lightly, before following Alice. Dawn knew to remain alert, though. Paul's tense shoulders warned her so.

"Ah – those red roses are the Queen's favorites. She hated any other color! I remember once we had to paint all of the roses red!" Alice laughed at this, as if the memory were a candid snapshot in her brain.

The white rabbit in her arms had begun to squeal and screech even louder, struggling heavier. It kicked and pushed, struggled and squeaked. Alice had stopped. She was facing Dawn and Paul now, as she scolded the white rabbit lightly.

"Mister Rabbit, you're being so rude! You need to be more polite in front of our guests!" She raised her finger to the rabbit, like a mother scolding a child.

The rabbit paid no heed to her words, and only struggled further. Alice pulled her face in closer towards the white hare's, and it was then the rabbit swat out its front paw. Its paw lightly scratched Alice's face, but it was enough to cause her to stop. Dawn held her breath for a moment, as she watched Alice's face contort from blank shock, to an eerie calm. Her eyes were half lidded and completely stoic, as her hands moved and she reached for the rabbit's neck.

She crushed her hands around the white bunny's neck, applying more and more pressure, before her hands began to twist in opposite directions. Dawn started yelling at her to stop, but Alice paid no heed. Dawn moved into grab Alice's arm, but Paul stopped her, mumbling in her ear.

"Don't do it. We don't want to start a fight with her." Paul murmured into her ear, but Dawn shook her head.

"What? I can't just stand here and watch her twist the rabbit's neck!" Dawn hissed back, and Paul glared at her.

"Yes, you have to."

The words struck a chord in Dawn. It was like déjà vu all over again.

_And if you want to survive, you'd better start getting used to it too._

_Yes, you have to._

Dawn turned to look at Alice once more. Her nails had begun to dig into the skin of the rabbit, past its fur. Clumps of white fur, stained red, had begun to collect under her nails. Then it snapped. The crack of bone was nearly too much for Dawn to bear, and she winced at the noise. Blood had begun to pour from the wounds on the rabbit's neck, staining the pure white fur a bright red. Alice stared at the dead rabbit clutched in her hands, before dropping it onto the ground. It began to bleed out onto the grass, and Alice sighed, sounding irritated.

"That's the fifth one this week! Why won't they be nicer to me? All I want to do is play!" Alice complained, acting as though the whole world were against her.

Dawn stared at her in blank shock, unable to form words.

Alice wiped her hands on her white apron, leaving red stains across it. "Well, let's hurry up to the castle, I want to go play with Mister Rabbit!"

"…What do you mean? Mister Rabbit is right there!" Dawn yelled, pointing at the dead rabbit lying on the ground. Alice looked at her, before looking down at the white rabbit, then looking back up at Dawn. Her eyes were devoid of emotion.

Alice suddenly smiled brightly at Dawn, "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't see any rabbit! Mister Rabbit is waiting at the castle for me!"

She turned and began to skip merrily in the opposite direction. Dawn stared after her, mouth agape.

"What just happened?" She questioned, completely baffled, "Did she just forget everything she did, or something?"

Paul simply shook his head, before grabbing Dawn's hand and leading her forward.

* * *

"Oh! Do you see that, over there? That's the Queen's favorite rose bush!" Alice pointed out, her fingers stained dark red. Inside a large square was a single rose bush, a large number of workers all around it with large buckets of a red substance that had dried. They had brushes in their hands, but it appeared as though the buckets were almost empty of their liquid contents.

"Why is that her favorite?" Dawn asked, glaring daggers at Alice.

Alice looked at her, as if she were strange.

"What kind of silly question is that? It's her favorite because she grew it!"

Paul frowned, and Dawn knew by the look on his face that he was confused. Another brief thought of how she knew this crossed her mind, but Dawn paid no mind to the question.

"What do you mean, she grew it? The Queen's been dead for years." Paul deadpanned, and Alice blinked again, owlishly.

"Well, sir, she grew it because that's where her body's buried!" Alice pointed out, cheerfully. "Let's take a closer look!"

Dawn tentatively followed the girl, Paul behind her. When Dawn drew near, however, she saw that the buckets were indeed, empty, but large bumps that had crusted onto the bottom of the bucket that smelled foul. She looked at the bushes, and saw that the color was fading away to reveal a white underneath. The liquid was thick, and dripped off the petals and onto the leaves.

"What the…?" Dawn started, before turning, only to realize that they were completely surrounded. Alice was still smiling brightly.

"You know, it's so hard to get red rose seeds around here. The roses from the Rose Labyrinth aren't roses you can harvest, so what are we going to do? We only ever have white rose seeds!" Alice sighed, as if she were greatly troubled. She crossed her arms, one hand pressed to her cheek thoughtfully.

"But you know, it's fine, it's fine! We can always just paint our roses red!" Alice answered, as if she'd been asked a question of concern.

"Ah – but, just a couple years ago, we ran out of red paint. Where are we supposed to get that?" Alice questioned, but not quite paying attention to anybody else, staring up at the sky.

Dawn and Paul's backs were pressed against each other now, as they watched the workers slowly circle and begin to close in on them.

"Well – I knew the answer, of course! We would follow in our dear Queen's footsteps, of course! Beheading is such a messy business, there's so much you have to clean up afterwards and dispose of. But why not use the blood to paint our roses red? It's so much more convenient than just getting rid of the blood!" Alice laughed, and Dawn could hear how unstable the girl was beneath her laughter.

"Sure, it makes our roses smell a little funny, sometimes, but goodness, does it work well! Ah – well, usually. Anyways, we haven't had any beheadings as of late, but our white roses are popping up everywhere! We've nearly run out of blood!" Alice continued her monologue, still not paying attention to anything around her.

Dawn glanced down at the bucket at her feet. She could smell the scent of rotting flesh, now that she was up close. She could see small chunks of flesh lining the bucket that had been encrusted onto the side by the dried blood. She scrunched her nose up and grit her teeth in distaste. She looked back up, counting the number of workers around her.

There were six of them, not including Alice, and only one of her and one of Paul.

Dawn gulped at this, before sinking slightly down against Paul's back. She then dropped quickly and dropped her bag, before grabbing the bucket and throwing it as hard as she could at a worker. It slammed into his face, knocking him backwards. She saw the blood from his nose pouring down his face.

It was like a dam had broke, and they all lunged for the two at once. Paul dodged easily, and from the bag she dropped, Dawn pulled out a dagger. She winced slightly once her hand touched it, realizing it was the same one she'd used to kill Gretel with. Pushing the thoughts aside, she pulled the blade loose from what it'd been wrapped in, and lunged forward towards her opponents.

Paul had pulled his knives from where he hid him, and thrown two well aimed throws at two guards. Only one had hit the heart effectively, and the man had pulled the blade out only to slump to the ground minutes later, bleeding out. The other had managed to graze another worker, but not enough to do damage.

Paul grunted as a worker pulled him into a headlock. He twisted the man's wrist, however, before throwing him over his shoulder and into another worker.

He glanced behind him where Dawn was, already seeing a man on the ground dead. She'd slit his throat. He turned back to his own battle, and in the background he could still hear Alice talking.

"…You know, it's pretty economic and good for the environment to use the blood this way. It's less waste into the ocean – I mean, that's where we dump everything, you know." Alice continued, mindlessly. She had turned to look out towards the rest of the maze, not facing the rose bush anymore.

Dawn glanced down at her hands. They had stopped shaking over the course of her time in this world. They were stained with blood, and from the tip of her dagger blood dripped aimlessly onto the ground. Her entire blade was coated with the thick crimson substance, and her clothes stained and ripped from grass, blood, and the battle. All around her were dead bodies, their fresh blood staining the green grass. She'd killed three of them, the other three had been Paul's doing.

One, with a well-aimed slash to the neck, the other, a jab to the heart that had bled out quickly afterwards, while the last had been more of a struggle – but in the end, she'd done to him what she'd done to the first: slit his throat.

She took in a shaky breath. She looked up at Paul, who was panting slightly. He was still tired, like her, from what had happened with Goldilocks. His face was perfectly blank, but his eyes were a well of emotions. Dawn could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves, as if it were palpable. He marched up to Alice, before grabbing her.

She stopped talking at that moment, a slight pause.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice oozing innocence.

"I can't stand hearing you talk." Paul hissed, before his hands snapped in opposite directions and Dawn heard the sickening crack of a spine snapping, bone breaking, once again.

* * *

So yeah, Alice wasn't so much dangerous as she was an air headed daydreamer. Yeah I know, she liked to talk a lot. She did it the entire battle. And….

**SHE KILLED A RABBIT.**

If none of you know, I love rabbits. So, yeah, I kind of had to make her kill the white rabbit, but… It's okay, because she died kind of the same way. YAY PAUL

Anyways, if you were confused about why she kept denying the rabbit and stuff, it's because she was CRAZY and would forget about things that weren't happy in her mind.

Oh, and the last part, where Paul snaps his hands in opposite directions? It's like this move where you grab a person by their head or something, and you move your hands in opposite directions really fast to snap their neck. Yeah, it's a real move... I just don't remember how it's done specifically. LOL

You know, to be totally honest, I had imagined this chapter to be WAY more violent and WAY more full of blood and stuff. I mean, we're painting roses red here with blood. But instead I had Alice talk about how it was economical and environmentally friendly to re-use people's blood from beheadings to paint roses. LIKEWHAT? I was going to have this huge scene with a beheading and stuff, and to be totally honest I feel like I COULD have made it better with different scenes, but... then I realized... none of it would fit. It would have taken too much extra explaining and it would have made this one chapter feel more like an entire separate story than part of this one entity. So, sorry if this chapter was a let down :'(

Anyways, next chapter, EXPECT CONFRONTATION…

(Hint, hint. Who do you think is going to show up that has been gone this entire story?)

Oh, and sorry if this chapter was violent enough for you. LOL I feel like it was really toned down….


	11. Chapter 10: Seek Me No Further

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 10: Seek Me No Further

_/ / wait, wait, fate is waiting, nightingale / /_

_/ / following the voice of my heart, after that bird / /_

_/ / now, the die is cast / /_

* * *

_m a r c h o n_

* * *

You guys are good guessers, lol! Yeah, you all know what's going to happen…

…They're going to meet….

Yay! So read on, my friends, read on!

Oh, and, I eliminated using the Japanese suffixes. I guess I kind of didn't realize I was using it in the chapter where I introduced Rose-Red and Snow-White, because Japanese has just become a very integrated part of my writing. That, and I only watch Pokemon in Japanese lol so suffixes are kind of… always there. Sorry if the Japanese angered you, as it did to one reviewer lol so I just decided to um, stop using it.

(I'm attempting to write this while watching Spongebob… Which makes it hard to write serious things LOL. Especially dark, seriously twisted fairy tales…)

Oh, and another thing! It's written on the bottom of my profile (my disclaimer) but I should probably clarify that the stuff in italics below the chapter titles are all lyrics from songs! I have a play list dedicated to this story lol with everything I need to help inspire me to write! The lyrics from this story are from KOKIA's song "Follow The Nightingale" which, if you're familiar with the Tales of game series, you'll recognize as the opening song for the game "Tales of Innocence". Good game, by the way! (It's for the DS and there's a full English patch for all you guys who can't understand Japanese!)(Wow I sound like a ringing endorsement lol)

* * *

Dawn watched as Alice's body slumped to the ground, lifeless. She stared at her body only for another moment, before picking up her pack and following Paul. He turned to look at her, glancing at the dagger she'd left on the ground. It was covered in blood that had begun to dry and crust on the edges. He glanced at Dawn one more time, noting the look on her face. He grabbed her wrist at that moment, and began to lead her towards the exit of the maze. He felt her hand wrap around his wrist, tightly, slightly shaking. He peered left and right, noticing that there were no soldiers or workers around. Straight ahead of them were the large double doors, decorated with large black and red squares, the door handles large red hearts.

Dawn released her hand and pulled her wrist back from Paul's hand, her own palm landing in his. She gripped his hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Paul made no movement to release her hand, and instead tugged on her lightly, signaling to move forward. Dawn took in a deep breath, and followed suit. The large twin doors opened easily, and they were greeted with a large open foyer that branched off to the left and right, as well in front of them. Stairs led to an upper floor, and Dawn could see the hallways of the second floor curling the entire room. Her voice was stuck in her throat – where would they start? How would they find Zoey in such a large area? The castle was like the never-ending hedge maze the two had just been in, only this time, there was no guide to lead them through it. (Even if that guide had been slightly off-kilter…)

"Ah – ah, they made it, Snow-White, they made it!" A cheerful voice called from above them. Dawn and Paul turned to the source of the voice, only to find Rose-Red hanging onto one of the large chandeliers that hung to the ceiling. The light emitting was low and dull, and the large chandelier began to swing back and forth, the diamonds making loud chimes as they clinked together. Rose-Red laughed hysterically, and Dawn could see rips in her clothes, the same ones she'd worn when they'd first met – she had scabbed over slash wounds, and her stockings were torn in multiple places. She wore no shoes, and her hood was down, the large rabbit ears swinging around, tattered in various places. There was a large slash down her right eye, which was slightly lidded as though she couldn't open it fully because of pain from the still healing wound.

"Oh, I can see that they did, Rose-Red!" Snow-White smiled at the two, her smile wide-toothed and friendly. Her clothes were also the same as when Dawn had first met her, however they were clean and un-ripped. She was like a perfectly manicured doll, while Rose-Red was a broken toy still trying to function.

"Are you here to see the Duke? Or perhaps are you here… to see Zoey?" Snow-White started, before her voice trailed off coyly. Dawn tensed at her best friend's name.

"Where's Zoey?" Dawn demanded, stepping forward slightly. Snow-White laughed, the sound similar to bells. Dawn saw a flit of anger pass Rose-Red's face, as if she were angry with her sister. Rose-Red glanced briefly at Snow-White, an angry look on her face, but in a flash it was gone, and Rose-Red's face revealed nothing.

"Now, now, Dawn. You can't rush these things! You're a little earlier than expected, though…" Snow-White paused, as if she were troubled, "Alice was supposed to keep you distracted a little longer. I mean, now you're early for the party!" Snow-White sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's fine, Snow-White, let's just kill them!" Rose-Red hissed, voice impatient.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Paul responded, annoyed. Dawn looked at him as though he were crazy for taunting the clearly crazy girl.

"Excuse me, but what did you say, _Pa-aul_?" Rose-Red elongated the 'a' in Paul's name, voice husky and angry.

"Oh? No suffixes this time?" Paul questioned, voice mocking.

"Hmph! Snow-White let me kill them, or at least let me kill Paul!" Rose-Red shrieked angrily, looking about ready to jump off the chandelier and attack.

"Be patient, Rose-Red. Lest you wish to make the Duke angry, again…" Snow-White warned, her tone dark. Rose-Red stiffened at this, and Dawn saw her grip the chandelier edge tightly, veins popping on her forehead. Rose-Red bit her thumbnail angrily, and Snow-White turned back to Dawn and Paul, a serene smile on her face.

Dawn felt a shiver run down her spine involuntarily. The girl was too easy at controlling her emotions. Dawn stepped back, falling in line with Paul. He tensed when he saw Snow-White move from where she stood, over to the stairs. She jumped onto the railing, sliding down the curved rail to the bottom. Paul turned towards the stairs, but Dawn remained in her spot, watching Rose-Red carefully.

She saw Paul tense as Snow-White landed onto the ground. Dawn could see the glint of blades hidden in his sleeves, their points resting on the palms of his hands. Rose-Red then suddenly jumped from the chandelier, landing only a few feet away from Dawn and Paul. Dawn jumped at the sudden movement, unnerved. It was only at this moment that she realized how nervous and utterly terrified she was.

Rose-Red saw this, and began to laugh hysterically.

"My, my, little girl, are you _scared_?" Rose-Red gripped her stomach, tears prickling at the edge of her eyes, unable to stop laughing.

Dawn gulped at this, but glared at Rose-Red, not about to back down. Rose-Red's voice and laughter began to trail off, and she opened her eyes to stare at Dawn, a cold anger burning behind her eyes. Dawn frowned at this.

"I don't like those eyes." Rose-Red hissed, staring at Dawn. She then paused, her entire body still.

"You know, because of you, I got severely punished… Punished for failing to kill you and failing to kill Paul." Rose-Red glared at Dawn, and the two began to circle each other. Dawn looked at her, bewildered.

"Well, that's not my fault, you know. You're the stupid one who couldn't kill two people." Dawn snorted. Rose-Red blinked, before hissing angrily at Dawn.

"What did you say, you little bitch?" Rose-Red snarled, and Dawn shrugged at this, her body calm. Her insides, however, was a raging beehive of nerves. She was mentally screaming at herself to stop taunting the girl, but she couldn't help but feel that slight twinge of satisfaction when she looked at Rose-Red's angry face. Paul stepped forward towards Snow-White, who quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, do you want to fight one-on-one, Paul?" Snow-White questioned, eyes calculating.

"Hmph. I'm sure you'd like that, considering you can't even defeat me, let alone two people." Paul smirked, and Snow-White grit her teeth at this remark.

"How _dare_ you! I'm more than enough to take you out! I'm not a fool, like my dear sister Rose-Red." Snow-White hissed. Dawn watched Rose-Red's face as it lit up with fury.

"Excuse me, dearest sister, but are you calling me _inferior_?" Rose-Red hissed, and Dawn paused, stepping backwards and slightly out of the way of the angry girl. Paul quirked an eyebrow, glancing back and forth at the two sisters who were now stalking towards each other, and stepped out of the way quickly.

"Well, you _did_ lose the Duke's interest, while I haven't. I'm still in favor with him, and you aren't. I'm obviously the better one, dear sister. That makes _you_ inferior to _me_!" Snow-White remarked, voice smug. Dawn watched as her twin guns slid from her sleeves and landed squarely in her palms.

"I'm still sharing his bed, dear _sister_, unlike you! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I'm the one in better favor with the Duke!" Rose-Red smirked at the scowl on Snow-White's face.

"Oh? And what about all of those marks on your body? If you haven't noticed, I didn't get punished, but you did!" Snow-White responded. The two were close to each other and they had begun to circle each other. Rose-Red's blades slid into her palms, glinting off in the dim light of the foyer chandeliers.

"Hmph! That doesn't matter, if he really did favor you over me, you would be the one sharing his bed and not I!" Rose-Red shrieked, and then it was like something had snapped, and Snow-White aimed her twin guns at Rose-Red and began to fire.

* * *

Dawn and Paul ran through the hallways towards the throne room of the castle, suspecting the Duke would be there. Paul had whispered to Dawn that if they could just get it out of him, they wouldn't have to search the entire castle for her friend, saving time and Dawn couldn't help but feel a little bit of pleased anticipation at beating the information she wanted out of the Duke.

Rose-Red and Snow-White had promptly begun to fight with each other, allowing Dawn and Paul to escape from them, without the two girls noticing. Dawn had mentioned briefly, during their run towards the throne room, that they were like a soap opera, fighting over one guy.

Paul had snorted at this, causing Dawn to snicker.

They rounded a corner, pausing to catch their breath. Beyond them were large columns that led to large double doors, decorated with red and black hearts. Dawn shook her head at this, noting that it was strange a man owned such a castle.

Then she remembered the Queen of Wonderland had designed the castle, and that the Duke had been the one to take it from her... by force.

"He should have re-decorated. This entire castle makes me question his sexuality." Dawn muttered, more to herself as she attempted to calm her nerves with light humor. Her voice was shaking slightly, whether it was from fear or anticipation, Dawn wasn't quite sure. Paul rolled his eyes at her remark, but smirked regardless.

"Why are you so nervous?" Paul remarked, recognizing the tone of her voice.

"Why? Are you seriously asking me why? I've been here for god knows how long and my friend has been missing for even longer than this and now I'm about to see her –" Dawn babbled, and Paul sighed and shook his head before patting her on the head, causing Dawn to stop.

They stood there for a minute, quiet.

"Hey, Paul." Dawn started, voice quiet.

"What?"

"…I'm going to go home after I get Zoey, you know." Dawn started, and Paul looked at her, his eyes reflecting slight surprise.

It was as though he hadn't considered this factor. Dawn stared at him, waiting for a response.

"…Yeah, I know." He responded, looking towards the doors that led to the castle's throne room.

In her mind Dawn said, 'Oh, did you now?' but Dawn kept her mouth shut.

They stood there in relative quiet for another moment, before Paul's hand removed itself from her head and for a moment Dawn missed the comfort it brought her. She quickly shook the thoughts from her head, and turned to face the throne room doors with him.

Paul walked forward, pushing the large doors. They creaked open, slowly, before swinging on their own inertia forward, into the throne room. There was a strip of red carpet that led straight to the throne, where a single man sat.

It was the Duke.

The two wandered in cautiously, glancing around. There were no other soldiers, no other Rose-Reds or Snow-Whites lingering around, waiting to ambush them. The room was devoid of people, save for the Duke, Dawn, and Paul.

She walked down the carpet, glancing back and forth. Large columns lined the way, and in front of each column was a pure white vase, with large roses situated inside of them. Dawn noted with disgust that the flowers had been painted red with blood. It looked as though the flower was decaying, as the blood dried on the petals.

"Ah, there you two are. I welcome you to my humble castle." The Duke raised his arms, a loud laugh rumbling deep in his chest as he laughed at his own statement. Dawn couldn't find any humor in his remark, but kept silent. She could feel the boil of anger starting in the pit of her stomach. She sucked in a deep breath, hands clenching at her side. She saw Paul send her a glance from in front of her, before turning back to look at the Duke. They had approached close – not too close, to the throne now.

It felt anti-climactic in a way, standing here just the three of them. It was like she'd been waiting for this moment since she landed in this world, and now all they were doing was staring at each other.

"It seems you're a bit early for the party, but that's all right. I didn't ever expect much from Alice, anyways. She was fun in bed, but other than that, she really didn't have much going for her!" Duke laughed at this, and Dawn stared at him in disgust. Everything about him made her angry.

"Where's my friend?" Dawn demanded angrily, and Paul glanced at her again.

"Now, now Dawn. There's no need to rush, we should enjoy this pre-party before the real thing begins, now, shouldn't we?" Duke scolded, raising a finger, as though he were reprimanding a small child.

"Fuck you," Dawn hissed, anger erupting inside of her, "Where is she!"

"Calm down, Dawn." Paul stepped closer to her, hissing in her ear. Dawn took a deep breath, knowing her anger would be her downfall. She clenched her fists, willing herself not to cry. She couldn't understand why she was getting so emotional now…

But perhaps it was because she was so close to her friend, and at the same time miles away from seeing her. The Duke eyed her once more, before turning his head upward, the slight tilt of a frown on his face.

"Oh? And what have you two been doing?" The Duke's voice had gone cold, and the sound caused Dawn to shiver out of fear. She turned around, only to see Rose-Red and Snow-White limping into the room.

"I-I'm very sorry, Duke…" Snow-White started, hand gripping her arm. Dawn could see blood trailing down from underneath her palm, staining her clothes red. Rose-Red was covered in fresh scratches and cuts, most likely from bullets she'd barely managed to dodge. Their clothes were ripped in multiple places; Rose-Red's even more tattered than before.

"Silence. I don't want to hear your excuses." The Duke responded, cutting Snow-White off. She shut her mouth immediately, fear evident in her eyes.

"I suppose I'll have to discipline you both… later, though, because we're about ready to start the party." The Duke's voice started out darkly, before moving to a light, cheerful tone as he turned to look back at Dawn. Dawn gulped, but glared at the man nonetheless.

He laughed, "You know, if it weren't for you I would have eaten your friend already."

Dawn stiffened at this, "She's still alive, right?" She whispered, fear overtaking her tone.

"Of course, of course! There's no need to worry about that!" The Duke laughed cheerfully at her question, as if it were a preposterous situation for Zoey to be dead.

"Why, in fact, she's right over there…" Dawn swung her head to the left, where the Duke was pointing. From the shadows, she saw something move.

It slowly walked forward, in tattered clothing, and bruises marring it's skin. Dawn felt her voice catch in her throat as the girl stepped forward, into the light, her bright orange hair like flames, dark red eyes like rubies glinting in the poor candle and dim chandelier light of the throne room.

"Zoey."

Dawn scrambled over towards the girl; desperate to give her lost best friend a hug. Paul's eyes widened, as he watched Zoey's movements. She was moving forward – yes, but there was something odd about the way she was moving…

"Dawn, shit! Stop!" Paul yelled, but Dawn could barely hear his words. She slowed, before stopping a few feet in front of Zoey, who was slowly moving towards her. She reached her hand out, slowly.

"Zoey… are you – " The words had barely slipped from her mouth before her own eyes widened, and her body moved instinctively out of the way. Zoey's arm moved, her hand that had been hidden behind her back swung forward, a large dagger in her palm as she jabbed forward towards Dawn.

Dawn barely managed to dodge the blow, and cried out as the blade sliced against her skin on her side. She jumped backwards, away from Zoey.

Dawn breathed heavily as she gripped her side harshly, the feel of slick blood flowing past her fingers, the wound pulsing almost as if it were alive. She could feel the tears threatening to break free, and shut her eyes tightly as she attempted to regroup after what had just happened.

"Oh, Dawn. You're such a crybaby." Zoey snorted, flinging her dagger downwards, the blood flying off the smooth blade at the flick of her wrist, the blood throwing itself across the stone floors.

"Zoey… Is that really you?" Dawn whispered in disbelief, breathing harsh.

Zoey tilted her head slightly at Dawn, face blank, for only a moment. Her expression twisted quickly from passive indifference to a mocking sneer, and Dawn couldn't help but shift slightly backwards in response, her eyes reflecting shock. Zoey laughed, her voice mocking.

"Of course it's me, Dawn! I've gotten impatient waiting for you, you know." Zoey rested on the balls of her feet, hands behind her back, smiling brightly.

"W-what?" Dawn stared at her, aghast, "What are you talking about, Zoey?"

Zoey rolled her eyes, "You took so long to get here! I was starting to think you got killed along the way, or something. That really would have disappointed me. Then I wouldn't have the fun of killing you myself." Zoey smiled, voice dark and cold.

"Now then, all the guests have assembled! Shall we have a little party, now?" The Duke laughed, raising his arms forward. Rose-Red and Snow-White had begun to circle Paul, who grit his teeth as he weighed his options. Dawn stared up at Zoey in shock, breathing coming out in short pants now. Panic and fear crept inside of her, and she stared at Zoey.

She tried to find Zoey in the dark red eyes that stared at her, unflinchingly. She tried to find the girl that had spent nights over at her apartment, walked with her to and from school, groaned about sports, homework, and boys with her. She tried to find her best friend.

The only thing she found was a complete stranger.

* * *

Yeah, that just happened.

Hope you look forward to the next chapter!

This chapter was horribly un-proofread, so sorry if there are a lot of mistakes….


	12. Chapter 11: Twilight

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 11: Twilight

_/ / the stars, the moon, they have all been blown out / /_

_/ / no dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight / /_

_/ / and in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat / /_

* * *

_I tried to find the s o u n d_

* * *

_Gothika_ has hit 100 reviews! Thanks to all of you readers for following me on this story for over a year now! I LOVE YOU ALL! This chapter is dedicated to all of you, and of course, my 100th reviewer: **azngirlhere**!

I apologize for this late chapter, I would have had it up earlier if I hadn't gotten stuck with where I wanted this chapter to go… Also, I apologize that this chapter is short, but I liked where I ended it lol…

Anyways, I'm sure you all realize that this story is going to be coming to an end soon. After this story, I will most definitely resume writing for _The Sunday List of Dreams_, _Last Chance_, and _Twisted_. I'm considering deleting _Four Seasons_ and re-writing it, because it was just one of those horrible things I wrote randomly… LOL and _Götterdämmerung_ was also deleted because that was horribly written and it needs a complete re-haul/re-write.

As for new stories… I have a few ideas, and they're all in the same dark genre as _Gothika_ is. Whether or not they'll be in the Pokemon fandom is still up in the air… so we'll see how it goes!

Be aware however, that _The Sunday List of Dreams_ is also nearing completion… although _Last Chance _and _Twisted_ are only beginning. (I have Chapter 1 of Twisted already written… can't help it lol it's a fairy tale like Gothika haha it's also almost six thousand words total….)

* * *

_She tried to find Zoey in the dark red eyes that stared at her, unflinchingly. She tried to find the girl that had spent nights over at her apartment, walked with her to and from school, groaned about sports, homework, and boys with her. She tried to find her best friend._

_The only thing she found was a complete stranger._

* * *

Paul didn't panic… _Doesn't_ panic. He does not panic verbally, and he does not panic mentally. Paul wasn't panicked. He was just… very… frustrated. And perhaps a little bit nervous, but Paul told himself that those were the nerves of a killer on edge, revenge sitting close by him. Paul glanced back and forth between Rose Red and Snow White, who were stalking around him like two lionesses assessing the best way to rip his head off. He glanced at the Duke, who sat calmly on his throne, not even paying attention to any of them, but rather staring off blankly, his eyes glazed over. Paul shot one last glance at Dawn. She was on the floor, staring blankly at the girl whose name was the only thing he knew.

Zoey.

Dawn took in a shaky breath, her thoughts flying through her mind at a mile a minute. She tried to come up with logical reasons as to why Zoey had just attacked her.

"Oh, Dawn. Why do you look so confused?" Zoey questioned, tilting her head innocently, her eyes cold.

"W-why are you acting like this? Zoey, it's me, Dawn! Your best friend…?" Dawn's voice trailed off at her question, as though she were unsure of it. Zoey's face turned into a snarl at this, and Dawn leaned backwards, shocked.

"Best friend? You're joking, right? I hate you! I hate everything about you!" Zoey shrieked, waving her dagger in the air menacingly as Dawn stood up, taking a step back.

"You hate me?" Dawn murmured, confused. Zoey's face returned to an eerie calm.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to play second best." Zoey hissed, voice furious by her face an eerie calm. Dawn frowned at this, even more confused. Zoey had always surpassed Dawn in terms of sports and smarts, and Dawn knew that. Dawn couldn't understand what was going on.

"If it weren't for you, I would be number one. If it weren't for you, if it weren't for you…." Zoey began to mumble to herself, eyes crazed. She gripped her dagger tightly, breathing quickly, mumbling to herself. Dawn gulped, frightened.

"Wha… what are you talking about, Zoey!" Dawn shrieked, completely losing it as fear overtook every nerve in her body.

"If it weren't for you, I would be number one! I lost, Dawn, lost to you!" Zoey shrieked hysterically back, and Dawn shook her head.

"What did you lose!" Dawn yelled back, anger and fear fueling her every thought.

"I'm not number one. You're number one. The Duke has placed you as number one. He likes you the most. And what have you done? Nothing! Nothing at all!" Zoey screamed, gripping her hair as she shut her eyes tightly in pain. Dawn stared at her, dumbfounded.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Dawn asked, completely shocked. She was even more confused now.

However, one thought crossed in the back of her mind.

_What had this man done to her best friend?_

"Look at what you've done to your friend, Dawn. You've made her go crazy!" Dawn stiffened at the sound of the Duke's voice from behind her. She turned to look at him, eyes still wide with shock and loss. He smiled brightly at her.

"Don't you see? You're number one! You should feel special, you know." He laughed at this, clapping his hands together as though this entire thing were a large joke.

"You're like the hero on the adventure… you're the main character, the main player in my game! Don't you feel lucky?" Dawn shivered at the sound of his voice, biting her lip as she glanced all around her. Rose Red and Snow White were shooting her murderous looks, and Zoey had brushed past her, causing her to jump, a glare situated on her face as well.

"Fuck you." Dawn spat, a moment slightly overdue. The Duke laughed at this, as Zoey snarled at Dawn, a threat resonating in her eyes.

"Zoey, you can't be serious. You can not be serious about this." Dawn started, but it sounded as though she were trying to convince herself more than her friend.

"I'm completely serious, dear. I don't know what would ever make you think otherwise." Zoey responded, voice clipped and calculating.

"We're best friends! Don't you remember anything? You would never side with someone like him!" Dawn shrieked, hysterical. For a moment, Zoey looked confused. Dawn blinked at the expression, before Zoey's face turned into another angry snarl.

"I would never be best friends with you! _I hate you!_" She shrieked, before lunging for Dawn, dropping her dagger. Her hands flew forward and aimed straight for Dawn's neck.

The two rolled to the floor, Zoey's grip harsh on Dawn's pale neck. Dawn gasped for air, as Zoey began to squeeze. She kneed Zoey in the stomach, who released her grip, clutching her stomach in pain.

Dawn breathed heavily as Zoey rolled away, before noticing a dark red spot gathering on her clothes where she'd kneed her. Dawn blinked, as the dark spot grew larger. Zoey lay on her side, gasping in pain.

"Zoey…?" Dawn asked, voice shaken.

"Shit, Dawn – look out!" Dawn's head moved to the side, and she managed to dodge just in time to see Rose Red's knives hit the ground with a screech. She then heard the cock of two guns and the loud blasts as Snow White began to fire after Paul. She turned to look at the Duke, who simply sat in his chair, looking bored. He stared at his gloved hand, face passive. Dawn bit her lip furiously as anger bubbled inside of her.

She suddenly wanted to do nothing but shove the blade that Zoey had dropped straight into his neck.

Dawn snapped out of her rage as Zoey lunged for her again, blood spotting the ground from her wound. Dawn shrieked as she dodged, but Zoey caught her ankle. Dawn shrieked louder as they fought, Zoey's hands immediately reaching for her neck again. Dawn pulled at the flimsy clothes Zoey was wearing, and heard a rip. Zoey jumped back, gripping her stomach. Dawn stared at her, the tatters of her clothes shedding from her body like a second skin.

She was covered in cuts, bruises, and a strange black tattoo marking that had smudged slightly in one spot. It curled and snaked all along her hips and waist, and her stomach was bleeding from a wound Dawn must have re-opened when she kneed her.

Dawn gulped, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at her battered friend in shock. Zoey stared at Dawn blankly, confused, almost. She stood there and did not move, her face confused and contorted. She swayed slightly, as if lost in between being alive and dead, a twilight. Her eyes were distant. Dawn didn't have much time to register what was going on as she dodged again, but this time it was Rose Red's blades aiming for her head.

Paul glanced at the two on one battle Dawn was in on the other side of the room. Paul hid behind a column as Snow White opened fire on it. He grit his teeth, trying to strategize a way to get them out of this mess. He heard Snow White stop, as she began to refill her cartridges. He ran out from behind the pillar then, rushing straight towards Snow White. Her eyes widened in shock at Paul's speed, unable to refill her guns quick enough. Paul raised a dagger as he slashed at Snow White, missing her artery but nicking the side of her neck. His other hand rose with the other dagger, slashing at Snow White in calculated moves.

She dodged each one skillfully, attempting to refill her massive guns and dodge all of Paul's attacks.

'This isn't working.' Paul noted, as he jumped back. He took one glance at Dawn before rushing straight for her. He noticed the black markings on Zoey then, and his eyes widened in response.

'That tattoo…!'

Rose Red had gotten sloppy in her attack formation, Dawn noted, as the girl randomly slashed at Dawn. Dawn kicked Rose Red in the hand, the blade flying out and landing far away from the battleground. Rose Red lunged forward, causing Dawn to jump backwards further, but crashed straight into a tall table holding a vase full of roses in it. She grit her teeth as the corner came into contact with her back, the table tipping over. The roses fell forward as the table tipped backwards, and then the vase shattered into large pieces. They were thick, heavy and sharp.

Dawn grabbed a piece of the shattered vase, the roses scattering on the floor, the water spreading them around. The blood that had been used to paint the roses red was starting to turn pink, the color diluted from the water.

Rose Red had rushed in once again, her blade outstretched forward, reaching towards Dawn. Dawn ran forward as well to meet her, but fell down and slightly to the right as she dodged the blade, before her hands rushed up as the glass met flesh.

The glass shard embedded itself deep inside of Rose Red's heart. They stood there, like that, for a moment. Dawn heard the sound of Rose Red's blade drop behind her, as her arm fell limply to her side. Dawn turned to look at her face – just as Rose Red had turned to look at her. Dawn did not find any shock, fear, or sadness on Rose Red's face.

Rose Red was not scared, or shocked, or sad.

Instead, she grinned sickly.

She was teetering that edge of being alive, and being dead, almost like Zoey had. She was on the edge of twilight, just getting ready to fall off the field of rye and straight into the pit of hell.

Rose Red kept her hard stare level with Dawn's frantic eyes as she gripped Dawn's wrist tightly, before pushing the glass blade deeper into her chest. Dawn's head fluttered back and forth between Rose Red's eyes and her hand as blood ran thickly and quickly down her hands. Dawn's mouth opened as if to scream and yell 'stop!' but she had no time as Rose Red pushed her away, the sound of glass sliding against slick flesh and blood the only noise in the room. Dawn tumbled backwards, unsteady, but caught herself as she hit the pillar behind her.

Rose Red smiled for a moment – it was almost peaceful, Dawn noted – before falling backwards, and landing with a whoosh. Blood rushed from her wound quickly, then slowly, as her heartbeat came to a close. The light faded from her eyes and all that was left on the floor was a broken doll. The roses opened and fell slowly all around her, the wilting flower petals dropping to the ground like small pools of blood.

* * *

This was a short chapter, I do realize, but I didn't want to spoil any further than this! My next chapter is drafted, and I apologize for this late chapter but I just had trouble deciding if this was really the route I wanted to go with. I had a cooler idea for Zoey's brainwashing, but too bad I forgot it LOL whoops? I guess it wasn't that cool if I forgot about it haha! Oh well, anyways, I hope you liked that! YAY ROSE RED IS DEAD :D at least, I hope you're happy that she is lol!

Anyways, only a few more chapters left…!

(You know what I just realized? My pen name is in this chapter! Or part of it is, at least… LOL!)


	13. Chapter 12: Poppy

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 12: Poppy

_/ / I gave you / /_

_/ / a clock without hands / /_

_/ / I was in a sweet dream from which it seemed like I would never awaken. / /_

* * *

_time itself s t o p p e d_

* * *

So, I know I have been very slow updating even though it's been the summer (which is now pretty much over) but that's mostly because I've been busy buying an apartment and all that bureaucracy crap that comes with it… That, and inspiration has been severely lacking as of recent.

This story, I expect, will have maybe another chapter or two before I decide to finally end this. I'm kind of sad, really! I've had a great time with _Gothika_, and it's just sad that end is finally near….

It was really hard to write this chapter, I re-wrote it over and over again and scrapped the original writing. Deleted it all, multiple times, and had to start over again and again. It was a struggle, to say the least!

Sorry for the short chapter, but I liked where I ended it… xD Lol

Anyways, here's the next chapter of _Gothika_!

**Poppy: **in the language of flowers, it symbolizes death.

* * *

_Rose Red kept her hard stare level with Dawn's frantic eyes as she gripped Dawn's wrist tightly, before pushing the glass blade deeper into her chest. Dawn's head fluttered back and forth between Rose Red's eyes and her hand as blood ran thickly and quickly down her hands. Dawn's mouth opened as if to scream and yell 'stop!' but she had no time as Rose Red pushed her away, the sound of glass sliding against slick flesh and blood the only noise in the room. Dawn tumbled backwards, unsteady, but caught herself as she hit the pillar behind her._

_Rose Red smiled for a moment – it was almost peaceful, Dawn noted – before falling backwards, and landing with a whoosh. Blood rushed from her wound quickly, then slowly, as her heartbeat came to a close. The light faded from her eyes and all that was left on the floor was a broken doll. The roses opened and fell slowly all around her, the wilting flower petals dropping to the ground like small pools of blood._

* * *

Dawn gripped the piece of glass in her hand tightly, staring at the hollow shell that once had been Rose Red. Her other hand gripped the pillar behind her, and it was only when she felt something warm on her hands that she realized she'd been gripping the glass so tightly that it had begun to cut into her palm. Dawn stared at Rose Red's body, trying to sort through her muddled emotions, or lack of them. At the moment, she could only feel relief that Rose Red was finally dead, although a small part of her tried to muster up some sort of sympathy or empathy for Rose Red.

She felt only a small twinge of sadness for the girl, but ultimately, the emotion remained mostly buried, forced up by the small part of her that clung desperately to her naïve humanity.

Dawn clung to the pillar a little longer, breathing heavily. She turned at the sound of gunfire, dodging instinctively. However, it wasn't aimed at her. It had been aimed at Paul, courtesy of Snow White. Her face wasn't enraged, angry, or upset. Snow White's face was contorted, a large grin on her face and her eyes crazed. Dawn dropped the glass shard, and the sound caught Snow White's attention.

She dropped her empty cartridges as she stalked in a half circle, pushing Zoey out of the way with her hand covered by her sleeve, as if she were disgusted at the concept of touching her, before she began eyeing Dawn and Paul. They stood on opposite ends of the room, and she stared at them with a maniac glint in her eye. Dawn glared at her, anger boiling in her as Zoey fell to the ground like a limp marionette whose strings had been cut off.

"Why so pleased, Snow White?" Paul remarked, as he bent down slightly, reaching for the small knives he'd hidden in a holster on his ankle. Snow White giggled at his question, as she reloaded her cartridges. Paul pulled several small knives into his palms, carefully, as to not catch her attention.

"Oh, well now that Rose Red's dead, there's less competition for Duke's heart." Snow White giggled, and Dawn widened her eyes.

"That's your sister, your blood and flesh, and you're happy she's dead?" Dawn hissed angrily, eyes hard. She hated Rose Red, but Dawn couldn't understand how someone would be happy about their sister's death over a crazy man like the Duke. Blood is thicker than water, but Dawn was quickly realizing that this statement did not apply to the sisters.

Snow White simply shrugged at this statement, "I could care less about her, all I care about is the Duke. She got herself killed. She should have known better. Show no weakness." Snow White replied, darkly, before lifting her guns once again. One was aimed at Paul, the other aimed at Dawn. Dawn's eyes widened further, and she threw herself behind another pillar as Snow White began to rapid fire her guns again.

Dawn could hear the harsh _pop, pop, pop_ of bullet hitting pillar as it chipped away at her hiding spot. But above the sound of guns firing and pillars shattering she could hear Snow White's laughter, a crazed sound. And if she listened hard enough, she could almost hear the tears behind it all.

_Show no weakness._

Paul cursed as a bullet grazed his leg; the wound pulsing like it was alive. He ducked behind a pillar, waiting for the sounds of bullets to stop. He breathed heavily, one hand clutching several daggers, the other pressed against the bleeding graze wound. He winced as he applied pressure, but after a minute the pressure began to alleviate the pain that surrounded his wound. He glanced past the pillar as he heard the sound of two cartridges dropping to the ground. He threw the daggers in his hand at Snow White, the majority of them simply grazing her body, while one struck into her thigh.

She screamed in pain, dropping one of her guns as the free hand moved to press around the knife area, before grabbing the dagger and yanking it from her thigh. Blood rushed forth from the wound, the obstacle that was the dagger now gone. Snow White screamed again, hysterically, as the blood continued to rush from her wound. Paul ran from behind the pillar towards her, grabbing a fallen dagger from the ground and swiping it upwards at Snow White. She shrieked, leaning backwards as the tip of the knife grazed her cheek, a thin slice of blood sliding down her cheek like a tear.

Paul kicked the gun on the ground far away from Snow White. It traveled far down the room in the opposite direction, and Snow White stumbled backwards, before bending down into a backward bend and lifting her foot, effectively slamming it into Paul's chin and throwing him backwards as well. He hissed in pain as he rubbed his chin, watching as Snow White landed on her feet easily. He got up and threw a punch, as Snow White attempted to load a cartridge while dodging him. She dropped on cartridge, cursing as Paul kicked it away before he lunged again, his foot flying up to meet her cheek. Snow White was thrown to the side, and she looked up, one hand gripping her gun as the other wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. She rolled away from his kick, before jumping up and swiping at him with her right hand. Paul dodged this, but was caught by surprise as Snow White slammed the butt of her gun against his face, sending him flying. He grit his teeth, looking up as Snow White moved to hastily reload a cartridge. His eyes traveled to the area past Snow White, where Dawn was peering from behind a pillar, her eyes frantic. It was at this moment that Paul realized something.

Zoey was nowhere to be seen.

Dawn watched as Paul and Snow White fought, before glancing around her for some sort of weapon. She could find nothing near her, just the small chips of broken pillar and smooth tile. She grit her teeth, glancing around for the glass shard she'd dropped earlier. She found it, only to realize that it'd shattered when it hit the ground. Dawn could feel panic bubbling in her stomach, she was weaponless and Paul was fighting a battle by himself. If the Duke decided to join the battle…

Dawn shook her head at the situations that popped into her head, especially the ones that included her and Paul dead on the ground like Rose Red. She bit her lip before turning again when she heard the click of a cartridge being reloaded.

Paul grit his teeth as he scrambled upwards, barely dodging the slew of bullets Snow White had fired at him, until one bullet had lodged into his thigh. He tripped at this, slamming into the pillar in front of him, gripping his thigh in pain. Snow White laughed, before placing both her hands on her gun. Paul turned around, wincing as the bullet dug deeper into his bone.

"Looks like it's game over for you, _Pa-aul_." Snow White enunciated, the sound of her laughter echoing through the room. The Duke sat as his chair, eyes still glazed over as though he were lost in another world. Paul grit his teeth at this, gripping his thigh. He had no weapons in his hands, and he knew if he moved for another one, Snow White would shoot him on the spot. And without him, Dawn would be the only one left for Snow White to kill. He pushed the thought out of his mind, unwilling to accept defeat.

A shriek caused Snow White and Paul to turn their heads. Snow White raised an eyebrow as Dawn was thrown onto the floor, Zoey close behind her, a curved dagger raised in her direction. Snow White smirked.

"Oh? So you aren't useless after all!" Snow White trilled, as Zoey stalked forward. Dawn remained on all fours; her nails digging into her callused and abused hands. She shut her eyes tightly, jaw set, almost as if she were accepting what was about to happen to her. Zoey remained relatively silent as she stared at Dawn, and Snow White frowned at this, her gun still pointed at Paul. She shrugged at this, before her head turned back to Paul.

They all remained there, silent. The silence hung in the air thickly, and Paul could see the tension leaving Dawn's shoulders, and he knew that she'd given up.

"Show no weakness." Dawn snapped her head up at Zoey, and it was only at this moment that she saw that in the area that Snow White had touched her with her sleeve, the tattoo that had snaked around her body had been rubbed completely away. Zoey raised her arm high, as Snow White twisted her body towards Zoey, her eyes wide with shock and surprise.

The glint of the dagger blinded Dawn for a moment, and she watched as the knife fly from Zoey's hand and straight into Snow White's chest. Snow White's eyes widened, as the impact of the dagger threw her backwards. She grit her teeth as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, before firing the last bullet within her cartridge at Zoey.

Dawn watched the scene with horror, as the bullet flew and hit Zoey. Zoey's eyes widened in shock as well, and the force of the bullet threw her already weak body backwards and onto the ground. They both landed, almost simultaneously, hitting the ground with a loud _thud_.

Dawn could hear nothing, even as the scream left her mouth. She could not hear the gurgle of Snow White's last breath, or the sound of Zoey's voice as she whispered to Dawn in slow, low tones. She only watched as Zoey's lips moved slowly, her battered and bruised body lying so, so still on the ground, the only indication of life was the rise and fall of her chest, and the slow tilt of the corners of her mouth as she looked up at Dawn's crying face. The tears hit Zoey's cheeks, and the liquid curved down her cheek as she tried to smile.

'I missed you, Dawn.'


	14. Chapter 13: Off With Your Head

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 13: Off With Your Head

_/ / intertwined fingers, a head of repentance / /_

_/ / and sins to atone for – / /_

_/ / what are they? Which are they? / /_

* * *

_are they l i e s ? are they t r u e ?_

* * *

I'm seeing a common theme in my reviews and that's that everybody thinks Zoey is dead… ohohoho, well as to whether or not she really is dead, you'll have to see!

Sorry for the relatively short chapters as of recent, but I've been cutting off the chapters where I like it… Lol! I already knew how this chapter was going to go down, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed (killing the Duke off hahahahaha) writing it! The final chapter might be pretty long, since I have to fill in any plot gaps and tie up loose ends, and of course all the angst that will obviously come with our main couple haha! The epilogue is tentative, of course, depending on whether or not I like how the grand finale chapter ends. ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO! (and maybe an epilogue. lol)

I'm relatively satisfied with how this chapter turned out, it didn't take as much time or effort to write it out since I've had this scene playing in my mind since the day I started this story. It just took a while to get this posted 'cause I recently moved into my new place, didn't have internet for a week, started school again and all that other jazz we're all going through right now… Anyways, the previous chapter was hard to write, just 'cause I wasn't satisfied with the way the events in my head were going, and how I was translating them onto paper. I was thinking this morning, too, about how I have a fairy tale story for Ikarishipping (_Gothika_), a fairy tale story for Contestshipping (_Twisted_), but none for Pokeshipping…! Hmm….

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

_Dawn could hear nothing, even as the scream left her mouth. She could not hear the gurgle of Snow White's last breath, or the sound of Zoey's voice as she whispered to Dawn in slow, low tones. She only watched as Zoey's lips moved slowly, her battered and bruised body lying so, so still on the ground, the only indication of life was the rise and fall of her chest, and the slow tilt of the corners of her mouth as she looked up at Dawn's crying face. The tears hit Zoey's cheeks, and the liquid curved down her cheek as she tried to smile._

_'I missed you, Dawn.'_

* * *

Dawn choked back a sob as she cradled Zoey's head in her hands and lap, tears sliding down her cheeks even as she attempted to hold them back by blinking rapidly. She sniffed heavily as Zoey smiled – bright, strong, and at the same time so, so weakly – at her.

"I missed you too, Zoey." Dawn attempted to smile at her friend, but it was forced and strained and Zoey could see it. Dawn was vaguely aware of Paul as he shouted something at her, but at the moment all she could think about was the fact that her friend was dying in front of her and she couldn't do anything to help her. It was cruel, she thought, that after all this time and suffering she'd finally found her best friend, only to have the moment ripped away from her by the Duke, Snow White and the bullet that bled scarlet inside of her.

Zoey remained silent, her breathing labored. All around them lay dead, broken bodies and sharp weapons and blood. That's all this world was, she'd discovered in time. Dead bodies, weapons, blood, and the bones and bonds that connected them all together. Dawn took in a shaky breath as she stared at her friend, who remained silent, her eyes drifting shut.

"Zoey? Zoey, hey, you can't close your eyes." Dawn begged her friend, and Zoey sighed softly, the breath light between her lips.

"I'm tired, Dawn. So, so tired." She started, her voice slowly cracking and breaking down with each word as the tears slid between her closed eyelids, and Dawn watched as her friend shattered right in front of her.

"You'll be okay, I promise. Okay? We'll go home together and we'll go back to school and talk about boys and spend our afternoons at that café down the street from our apartments. Okay?" Dawn started, desperately, as one after another memory passed in front of her eyes. Zoey laughed, weakly, and gave a slit tilt of her head.

"That'd be nice…" She murmured, before her eyes slipped close and no matter how much Dawn yelled she would not respond. Dawn stared at her friend, fright and desperation flashing across her face. Dawn feared the worst; that her friend was dead. Dawn laid her head gently on the ground, eyes wide with loss as she stared at her friend's face, unable to move.

Paul hissed as he attempted to move his leg, the bullet that hat hit him had ingrained into his bone, and any attempt at moving it was too painful to bear. He glanced around him for something, anything, to pry it out with. Daggers, swords, bullet shells and blood lay all over the floor around him. He looked up, watching as Dawn stared at her friend with a blood stained face and shaking hands, her eyes wide with shock and loss. He felt a small ache in his heart, knowing that she was feeling what he had when his brother had been killed. His head turned at the sound of clapping.

"Bravo, Dawn! Bravo, Paul. It seems as though you've won! For only this moment, of course." The Duke laughed, as he rose from his chair, clapping slowly. He grinned at them, as though the dead bodies on his floor didn't bother him at all.

He stepped down, stomping down into the blood on the ground, staining the tips of his pants. He didn't notice it however, and instead simply continued over to Paul. He splayed his arms wide, in an almost half shrug.

"I don't think I've ever had this much fun before!" The Duke laughed, and Paul grit his teeth in anger at this.

"Fun? Games? What the _fuck_ are you pulling at, you sick bastard?" Paul hissed between clenched teeth, his jaw set as the Duke laughed at this.

"Don't you see, Paul? Everything is a game." The Duke smiled, as he leaned back in a relaxed stance, a hand placed on his chin.

Paul remained silent, and the Duke paused. The only sound in the room was the quiet sobbing of Dawn, however Paul couldn't see her past the towering figure of the Duke. The Duke stilled for a moment, before continuing.

"I used to get so bored before. Ruling the lands had gotten so boring. Killing off any of the peasants here would have only created a cut in my income from taxes. Now why would I do that, when I have another source of players so close by?" The Duke laughed at this, clapping his hands together.

"It was easy, really. Humans are so stupid, they can't handle the rules in this world but when put into certain situations, they go crazy, like a trapped animal!" He shakes his head at this and sighs, almost as if he were disappointed, before turning up to stare at Paul again, smirking.

"It's even more fun with the girls, you see. Not only do I get to watch them kill, at first for survival and soon after for blood and sport, but I get to play with them as well." The Duke licked his lips, his grin spreading across his face, toothy and dangerous.

"Of course, there are a few that refuse to cooperate, like that girl over there." The Duke shrugged back and pointed with his thumb towards where Zoey's body lay.

"But, there are other ways of dealing with unwilling participants," The Duke gave Paul a suggestive, sick grin, "And of course, a little magic never hurt either." He laughed at this easily, shoving his white stain gloved hands into his suit pockets.

"Of course, if they're not dead and I get bored of them, they do make for a good meal as well." The Duke smirked, "You should try it, once you acquire a taste of human flesh you'll never go back." The Duke shook his head at Paul's angered, horrified, and hateful look.

"Now, now, Paul. Don't look at me like that, I can tell you your brother was quite good, for a male, that is." The Duke smirked cruelly at the look of realization on Paul's face.

"You sick piece of _shit_!" Paul yelled, eyes wide with anger, wishing he had a piece of sharp steel in his hand to lodge into the Duke's throat.

"There's no need to be hostile, now. Why not let bygones be bygones? I haven't done anything wrong, you know." Paul stared at him, aghast.

"Haven't done anything wrong? You only kill and torture girls and boys for sport, and then you eat them for god's sake! What do you mean you haven't done anything wrong!" Paul hissed, and the Duke shook his head at this.

"Gods are never wrong." The Duke replied easily, and Paul stared at him, a blank look passing over his face. The Duke continued, unabashed.

"I'm God! Don't you see? Plucking these pathetic mortals to play in my games – I control their fate, whether or not they die, I see it all! I know it all! I've become a God, can't you see?" He guffawed after this, hands rising out and up, eyes glazed over.

Paul grit his teeth as he watched the Duke lose it in front of him. The man was crazed, more so than he had ever suspected at first. Anger boiled within him and he cursed the bullet in his leg and cursed the lack of a weapon in his hand. His eyes widened with shock however, as he watched the Duke stumble onto his knees in front of him, a large dagger protruding from his back, a small, white knuckled hand gripping the dagger's handle.

Dawn ripped the dagger from his back, as the Duke fell forward onto the ground, wheezing in pain. Blood stained his white coat as it spread from the wide, open gash on his back. Paul looked up at Dawn, whose face was contorted in pain, anger, and a hatred so deep for the man that lay in front of him.

The Duke turned, backing away from Dawn and Paul, and Paul was sure that for the first time, he was afraid. He could see it in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to mask it with feigned laughter and charming smiles.

"This time, you were wrong." Dawn hissed, as she raised her dagger to point at him.

"Zoey isn't dead yet. There has to be some sort of healer in this god forsaken place."

The Duke remained quiet at this, unwilling to answer. Dawn stepped closer to him, causing the Duke to jump in fear, backing up even further, leaving a trail of bright red blood in front of him. He was unarmed, and this girl in front of him held no hesitation in the steady grip of her hand and the hardened look in her eyes.

"Call them. Call a healer, and if Zoey survives maybe I won't consider slicing your head off." Dawn hissed through gritted teeth, the threat hanging in the air. Hatred was alive in her eyes, and Paul knew that she wasn't joking. He glanced at the Duke, who was trembling, eyes half-crazed as he realized that he'd fallen from heaven and landed hard on the ground as a mortal.

* * *

Paul grit his teeth as the healer wrenched the bullet from his wound, the sound of the bullet sliding against his bone causing Dawn to shudder and wince. She didn't look at him, however, and continued to watch the Duke, who sat muttering to himself as he stared at the floor, eyes wide and glazed over. The healer muttered a quick spell to increase the rate of healing, before he bandaged the wound on his leg tightly. Even though his hands were still and calm, Paul could clearly see the distress and turmoil in the healer's eyes. He was jittery and nervous and Paul knew he was afraid either Dawn or he would kill him, or if the Duke survived all this he would kill the healer for aiding an enemy. The healer took a deep breath, before turning to look at Zoey.

Paul could see her chest rising, up and down, the movement slight but still an indication of life. The healer got to work quickly, pulling the bullet from her wound. He sighed, the sound of relief. Dawn glanced at him, her head swishing back and forth between watching the healer and watching the Duke, her movements becoming nervous. The healer worked quickly, his mouth moving fast yet silently as spell circles flashed every few seconds, as he worked on Zoey's body.

It felt as though she were waiting forever for the healer to speak. In all reality, she knew only ten or so minutes had passed since the healer had begun to work on healing Zoey. She turned to look at the Duke, her arm falling limp to her side as she stared at the broken man in front of her.

She felt nothing for him, no pity and no sadness, only an intense hatred that ate at her insides. Anger boiled within her as she glared at the man, and she could feel tears prickling at the corner of her eyes as she thought about the things this man had done to her best friend. She was vaguely aware that Paul had come to stand by her, pulling the dagger from her hand. The handle slipped out of her hand easily, as she turned to bury her face into Paul's shoulder, tears sliding down her cheeks and wetting his abused and torn shirt. He placed a hand on her head, pressing a kiss gently against her temple, unable to stop himself. He remained silent, and she could almost feel embarrassment wafting off of him, and it caused her to giggle slightly, her shoulders shaking as the mood lightened and hope renewed in her chest.

"The bullet didn't hit any vital organs. She'll be fine, granted she does not strain herself." The healer sighed, as he bandaged the wound tightly. Dawn sniffed as she ran over to Zoey's body, dropping to the floor.

She watched as the color returned, her cheeks still pale but there was the slight color of pink, and her chest rose and fell with more force. Zoey was going to be okay.

Dawn turned at the sound of the Duke's muttering, the silence of the room broken by his incessant, quiet and crazed murmurs. Dawn looked at Paul, who stared at the man. She could see the familiar hatred in his eyes. She thought of Paul's brother, and the things the Duke had said about him.

"I'm a God, this isn't happening." His eyes were wide and an emotion filled them, something, however Dawn couldn't quite tell what, and his mouth moved rapidly as he repeated this sentence over and over again. The wound on his back had turned a dark red, the blood crusting and drying. Paul shook his head at this before raising his hand high in the air, the blade of the dagger covered with dry blood. Dawn watched as it rose into the air, the blood on the weapon reminding her of the roses painted red and Alice and the Queen buried under the white rose bush outside. She thought of this large, desolate castle and all the bodies that had died inside and outside of its walls. Paul's eyes hardened as he stared at the Duke, whose body was bent over in such a way that it appeared as if he'd been placed under a guillotine, his neck exposed. His eyes were unfocused as he continued muttering to himself, unaware of death lurking right above him.

"Off with your head." Dawn whispered, as the blade swung down, slicing the air at first and then through flesh and bone.


	15. Chapter 14: The Sun Which Brings Dawn

**. g o t h i k a .**

Chapter 14: The Sun Which Brings Dawn

_/ / and if she likes I'll tell her lies / /_

_/ / how we'll be in love in the morning / /_

_/ / I don't think she knows / /_

* * *

_that I'm saying g o o d b y e_

* * *

It's finally here… The final chapter of _Gothika_! It's been a long, long journey getting here. Nearly 2 years later, it's finally over. I can't say I wouldn't have been able to finish this if it hadn't been for you – my fantastic readers and reviewers. Your reviews are what have been keeping me going! This chapter has been drafted for a long, long time on my iPod touch LOL of all places, and now finally it's come to full fruition. I hope you all enjoy it, I know I certainly have enjoyed writing this. Through all the ups and downs, I would totally go through it again if I had to! I don't know if this chapter is up to snuff, but I hope you still enjoy it anyways! Somehow to me it feels lacking, but after weeks of re-writing I think this will have to do. It may feel a little open-ended but I wanted it to be that way.

So here it is, the final chapter! I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have! You'll definitely be seeing more of me in the future (cough_The Sunday List of Dreams_cough_Twisted_cough_I need to finish those_cough) seeing as how I have two somewhat already drafted stories for Pokeshipping and Contestshipping coming up.

Now then, I present to you the final chapter of _Gothika_!

* * *

_"I'm a God, this isn't happening." His eyes were wide and an emotion filled them, something, however Dawn couldn't quite tell what, and his mouth moved rapidly as he repeated this sentence over and over again. The wound on his back had turned a dark red, the blood crusting and drying. Paul shook his head at this before raising his hand high in the air, the blade of the dagger covered with dry blood. Dawn watched as it rose into the air, the blood on the weapon reminding her of the roses painted red and Alice and the Queen buried under the white rose bush outside. She thought of this large, desolate castle and all the bodies that had died inside and outside of its walls. Paul's eyes hardened as he stared at the Duke, whose body was bent over in such a way that it appeared as if he'd been placed under a guillotine, his neck exposed. His eyes were unfocused as he continued muttering to himself, unaware of death lurking right above him._

_"Off with your head." Dawn whispered, as the blade swung down, slicing the air at first and then through flesh and bone._

* * *

The forces from Paul's castle had come quickly enough. With the only barrier between the lands gone, the large magic labyrinth completely dead, passage to the Duke's castle had been easy enough. The soldiers had searched the castle up and down, in and out. They'd found countless rooms in the basement, the stench of rotting flesh and dried blood hung heavily in the air, they'd said. Room along concrete room in the basement had been covered in various torture instruments – in one room the walls had been covered ceiling to floor in blood and chunks of rotting flesh. The kitchen had been stocked with large, small, and medium sizes of chunks of meat – it smelled disgusting and looked revolting. And Dawn had no doubt that it was human flesh.

She gulped, standing in the midst of the hustle and bustle of soldiers rounding up all the paper work as well as attempting to find any surviving humans that might have been spared before the Duke had a chance to finish them. They'd found nobody. Only the corpses and skeletons of people that once walked the streets in Dawn's world. Dawn stood still, staring ahead of herself. She felt unlike herself – everything felt unreal. She felt as if her body was not her own, like she was a spirit floating and watching a movie run past her in black and white. She jumped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. It was a soldier – she could barely see his face in the fog of her own disillusion. The world felt surreal.

Paul glanced over from the stack of papers his General had handed to him. He took a double take at Dawn, who looked as if a ghost had grabbed her. A soldier was speaking in low, slow tones to Dawn who was staring at him as if he were speaking Latin. Paul shoved the paperwork into his Chancellor's hands, ignoring their questioning stares before walking over to Dawn.

"It's fine, I'll take care of her." Paul deadpanned, the soldier looking up in alarm. He nodded, bowing slightly before walking away. Paul grabbed Dawn's shoulders, looking at her in the eyes with a serious stare. She was looking ahead of herself again as if she were lost in her own world.

"Stupid girl… what are you thinking of?" Paul murmured, and Dawn's head snapped up at the offending nickname. She blinked a few times and it was like the fog cleared from inside of her. She was alive. He was alive. Zoey was alive. The Duke was dead. A million thoughts ran through Dawn's head and it was suddenly like she was alive all over again and her heart started pumping wildly in her chest and for god's _sake_, they were all alive. Realization hit her like a train and finally Dawn felt like herself again. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she collected herself, before greeting Paul with a glare.

"I have a name, you know!"

Paul smirked at her response; just what he was expecting.

"You're interesting, Dawn."

Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks for the compliment." She responded sarcastically.

Paul just shook his head, chuckling lightly. "I like interesting."

* * *

Paul had officially claimed all of the Duke's assets. He'd been in meetings all week, trying to decide what to do with all the assets. They'd been at his home nearly a week now, allowing Zoey to recover before they left for home. It seemed almost medieval this sort of land-ownership, that if you defeated the land owner you claimed their assets, but Dawn supposed that this was just another aspect of this world she'd have to get used to. But when she paused to think about it long enough, it was just the same in her world. Countries fought wars and when they won, they claimed land or ports or other assets that would benefit themselves. In reality, Dawn paused; maybe their worlds weren't so different after all.

Dawn stopped to think again.

Maybe they weren't so different in politics only. In terms of hospitality, this world made hers look like saints.

Shaking her head, Dawn wandered through the corridors of Paul's home, finding her way to Zoey's room. Knocking lightly, Dawn strained to hear Zoey's soft voice calling her in.

"Hi, Zoey. How are you feeling…?" Dawn peeked into the room, her eyes landing on Zoey's form, sitting upright in the large canopy bed. "H-Hey, shouldn't you be lying down?"

Zoey laughed, "I think I'll be okay sitting, Dawn."

Dawn smiled at Zoey's laugh. She'd missed her friend so terribly in the time that she'd been without her. Her laugh was familiar and safe, and even though Dawn knew she was perfectly safe physically within Paul's sprawling estate, Zoey's laugh was a different kind of safety. It reminded her of clothes shopping and friends and late night dinners and the sun setting behind the horizon as they sat on their favorite swings, waiting for tomorrow. Dawn couldn't help the tears that pressed against her eyelids as she sat on Zoey's bed. She sniffed discreetly, but Zoey caught it. Zoey smiled sadly as she pat Dawn's hand – like an older sister. Dawn had missed her so, so much. The dam broke and Dawn couldn't stop the tears – they came and came and wouldn't stop and she was crying so hard that it was hard to breath and she could hear Zoey begin to cry as well and it was like her heart hurt in a good and a bad way because now she was here and her friend was alive and they were both _alive_.

Some days she remembers wondering if they'd come back home alive. But here they both were, breathing and hearts hammering and sniffing like five year olds who'd just lost their favorite toy.

"I missed you, Zoey!" Dawn wailed, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"

"I didn't think I'd come out alive, Dawn…" Zoey hiccupped and they clung onto each other desperately as their sobs slowed into soft hiccupping and quiet tears. Dawn sighed, leaning back against the wall. Zoey wiped her cheeks as she moved to sit against the headboard.

"…You know, I never thought I'd get to see home again." Zoey murmured quietly, staring at her hands. Dawn glanced over at her.

"I didn't think I would either." Dawn sighed, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands.

"How did you even find me, Dawn?" Zoey asked, tilting her head curiously at Dawn.

"I had some help from Paul." Zoey scrunched her nose up, as if she were confused.

"Oh! He's the one with the purple hair." Dawn pointed at her head, "And the really serious expression." Dawn scrunched her face up, attempting to make the same look as Paul. Zoey laughed lightly at this.

"I'm pretty sure nobody but you can make a face like that, Dawn." Zoey giggled as Dawn pouted, which slowly turned into a smile.

She didn't think she'd ever have another moment like this with her best friend.

"So, do you know when we leave?" Zoey questioned, passing Dawn the cup of water on the table beside her bed that she'd pointed at. Dawn looked at her, before looking out the window.

Sure, she'd thought of going home but what about Paul? It's not as if she'd gotten here through some portal that could open whenever she wanted. She'd come through a slip of paper and an incantation, not some stone she could keep with her for forever. Did she want to leave?

Dawn allowed herself to mull over the question and was almost surprised to find that she didn't know if she wanted to or not. Sure, the people here were crazy but Paul was here. Did she really want to leave someone she was pretty much in love with and had slept –

Dawn sputtered and nearly spat out the water she'd been sipping on. Zoey gave her a strange look as Dawn curled up and stared at the wall across from her with a near frenzy gaze.

"I-I think we're leaving in two days." Dawn hurriedly responded, before turning back to her thoughts.

All right, she'd known that she'd pretty much been in love with the boy for a while now but this was the first time she'd even thought about it since it'd happened. At the time between then and now she'd been too preoccupied with trying to, well, not die.

Zoey was staring at her as if she was crazy but underneath all of that, Dawn could practically _feel_ the lasers her eyes were shooting into her head. Dawn sighed and rubbed her head.

"Okay, you want to know what happened don't you?" Zoey smiled slyly.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said no… so yes."

Dawn sighed, before launching into a long monologue of what had happened since Zoey had gone missing. The sun had begun to set beneath the horizon; the sky turning a light shade of orange and pink and for a moment, Dawn was reminded of the swings at the park.

* * *

Zoey was relatively quiet for a few minutes. The sky had been dark for a while now and Dawn was sure that they'd been sitting there, talking for a couple of hours now. Dawn glanced at Zoey; She was itching to find out what had happened to her. Zoey glanced up at Dawn, before leaning back.

"I'm sure you want to know what happened to me, huh?"

"Well, I just spilled my whole life story to you," Dawn started, trying to make a joke. Zoey smiled at the attempt.

"To be totally honest, I don't remember much of it. I remember getting the letter in the mail and thinking it was a total hoax. And then after I got dropped in the middle of that crazy bastard's castle and staying there for a few days, it all gets blurry. I remember fighting those two girls day after day. I remember a lot of blood, and a lot of pain. But everything else – it's just foggy. Like, I was asleep for a long time but I never dreamed." Zoey was staring at the top of her canopy blankly, eyes fogged over.

"It was probably the magic." Dawn offered, and Zoey looked at her, before closing her eyes and nodding.

"Yeah, I guess so too." Zoey opened her eyes, "You know, a while back I would have never believed we'd be talking about things like this. Home seems so far away, doesn't it?"

Dawn looked out the window and watched a star fall from the sky. "Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes I wonder if I'm looking at the same night sky as I would at home." Zoey glanced at Dawn, before turning to look out the window too.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

* * *

"So what're you going to do about Paul?" Zoey deadpanned, eating an apple slice. Dawn had left for only a few moments to grab a couple of apples from the kitchen before racing back to Zoey's room. It was like they were ten again, sleeping over at each other's houses and talking about why that boy kept picking on that girl. Dawn froze, the knife in her hand half way through an apple.

"Ah, I see you haven't thought about it." Zoey snickered, and Dawn glared at her.

"Well, I've been trying to keep it from my mind. I don't know what I want." Dawn shoved an apple slice into her mouth, chewing nervously.

"Well you have to decide soon, I mean we leave soon." Dawn chewed her lip, before turning to Zoey.

"What would you do?" Zoey stopped eating for a moment to look at Dawn, an apple halfway in her mouth. She began to chew once again and swallowed, scratching her cheek lightly.

"I think, you should do what's best for you. What makes you happy, Dawn?" Dawn looked down at her hands.

Dawn said nothing, but Zoey could hear her loud and clear. She smiled.

'Paul does.'

* * *

The morning light made Dawn cringe. She opened her eyes slowly, the light hurting her still adjusting eyes. Zoey was still asleep, so Dawn took the opportunity to go to her room and wash up. She quickly changed out of her sleeping gown into something more suitable, before walking down stairs and into the dining hall. Paul was, unsurprisingly, already up and awake, but she could see the lines on his face. He was tired from all the negotiating and work that he had to put up with now that he had the new land and people and such.

Paul glanced up from the rim of his mug, before turning downwards again to focus on the papers on the table. Dawn steeled herself, before stalking over to the chair next to Paul's and sitting down in it. Paul blinked, looking at her in surprise. Normally she sat across the table from him, but today she was looking particularly fierce.

Not that he minded. He momentarily wondered what other faces she could make, until Jin interrupted and set a plate down in front of Dawn. She barely gave him a passing glance as he walked away, still staring at Paul with immaculate attention. Paul sighed, before putting down his papers and his mug.

"All right, I'll bite. What do you want, Dawn?"

Dawn's insides hummed with pleasure at the sound of her name rolling off his tongue (it was certainly better than 'stupid girl') but shoved it down. She was on a mission.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Dawn stated, and Paul quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, I know that." And with that he would have gone back to drinking his coffee and reading the financial reports except for the fact that Dawn was staring at him, completely and totally aghast.

"Good lord, what is it?" Paul asked, exasperated.

"Hello, I'm leaving tomorrow!"

"And, what of it?"

"Aren't you supposed to be stopping me or something?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Wha – I mean after all we've been through you're not even sad I'm leaving! After we slep –" Dawn stopped, turning bright red at what she almost said. Paul could only smirk at this, from behind the rim of his mug.

"A-anyways, after all we've been through and you're not even going to try and stop me?" Dawn continued to look at him, completely flabbergasted.

Paul sighed, before standing up and fishing for something in his pockets. He pulled it out, his hand clenched over it before promptly walking over to Dawn. Dawn stood up, backing up with an alarmed look on her face. Paul reached up and…

…lightly cradled Dawn's face between his hands.

"Listen, dumb girl," Dawn frowned at the nickname, "we're not some god-forsaken Greek tragedy or star crossed lovers between two worlds with gates that will close on us forever if we don't decide now. You can come back whenever."

Paul's hands slipped down her neck and to her hands. Dawn felt cool metal in her hand but never looked away from Paul.

"Or, I'll go see you. It's not like I can't leave this place to my Chancellor. So calm down."

Dawn sniffed haughtily a few times, before dropping the act and smiling brightly at him. She glanced down and opened her hands. A ruby pendant wrapped in white gold on a long chain sat in her palm. She could feel the magic that swirled within the stone.

"A ruby?" Dawn questioned, her thumb running over the crimson stone.

Paul simply smirked, "For the sun that brings dawn."

* * *

_Fin_.


End file.
